Thanks for all the joy and pain
by PeaceLoveandLife
Summary: Mercedes Jones is a sweet girl from a caring family. Sam Evans is a careless boy from a divided family. But when Sam's carelessness leads to tragedy, will lies cover up the truth? Will love overpower anger? Will they find joy within the pain?
1. Chapter 1

On September 1, 2011, the Jones Family was currently crammed into their Red Minivan and headed for Fairfield Township, a small community just outside of Lima where 72-year old Edna-Ruth Tilden lives. The proud grandmother is hosting the family's annual reunion and was anything but subtle about how important it is for everyone to come. As her favorite grandchild, Mercedes wanted to do everything in her power to ensure that they were there, so she suggested that they spend the night the day before so they'd be able to help prepare before everyone else's arrival. The family could be heard singing along to 'Check it Out' as the song blared on the radio, Mercedes and her mom Alice covered the Nicki Minaj verses, while her older brother Angelo and her father Melvin alternated with WillIAm's parts.

"Why are we listening to this?" Melvin asked, a little frustrated by his own lacking rap ability.

"Oh Mel, don't be a stick in the mud. I like it. Besides, I don't know about you but I want to stay current with the times. And Nick Monet is where it's at! He might dress a little weird, but hey nowadays Drag Queens aren't just a nighttime thing. You've gotta stay hip if you want to have a strong relationship with your kids." Alice turned her attention to Mercedes and Angelo who were seated in the back. "Isn't that right my babies?"

The brother and sister looked at each other and tried their best to contain their laughter. Angelo spoke first. "Yeah mom you're right."

"You're absolutely right. Although I should tell you that saying the word 'hip' is the fastest way to appear UNHIP." Mercedes said before laughing again. She whispered in her brother's ear. "That's not all she's wrong about. You think we should tell her?"

"No definitely not. She'll figure it out one day, but hopefully no time soon. This is hilarious." He whispered back as he continued to record the conversation on his iPhone. "Quality YouTube material right here."

"Really? Let me see." Mercedes looked at the phone as her brother began to playback the video.

Alice spoke again. "But still, I'm more 'slammin' than your dad right?"

"Oh my God, are you serious?" Angelo groaned while Mercedes and Melvin began laughing hard.

Alice questioningly looked at all three of them genuinely confused. "What?"

"…Nothing." The three responded.

After Mercedes collected herself, she leaned forward to skip a few tracks ahead on the CD and addressed her mom. "Okay mom, you handled that song pretty well, but now the real rapping begins. I challenge you, and you alone, to a rap-off. "

"Honey, didn't I always teach you not to challenge unless you're sure you can win? You're on!"

* * *

After another few minutes of rapping and singing, the family entered Fairfield. They were now about 25 minutes away from their destination. "Hey Dad, grandma just texted me that she wants us to stop and pick up some more plastic ware, paper cups and napkins."

"Okay there's a convenient store around the corner here. I can't believe she remembered what you taught her. Your mom can't even text."

"Hey hey, now. It's not that I CAN'T. I CHOOSE not to. Individuality over here." She said pointing to herself. "I'm a trendsetter, marching to the beat of my own drum. "

Angelo rolled his eyes. "God mom, next you're going to start preaching about how texting is the man's way of keeping everyone down."

"I've never been proven wrong."

The family pulled into a 7Eleven and Mercedes volunteered to go inside and purchase the items. Her father handed her the cash and she exited the car. She opened the door to enter and spoke to the cashier asking which aisle had the party supplies. He directed her to the fifth aisle down and she thanked him as she began walking. Once she turned down the aisle she began looking for the items, soon spotting the napkins. She bent down to pick up a few packs when her cell phone vibrated, indicating someone was calling. She took it out of her pocket and checked the caller ID. It was Kurt.

While still looking at the phone, she stood up and bumped into someone, knocking both her phone and the packs of napkins out of her hands. "Sorry." She quickly said at the same time as the other person. As she looked up, she was captivated by a pair of green eyes belonging to none other than Sam Evans.

_*Flashback*_

_June 5, 2011_

_The last day of school (junior year)…._

_Mercedes was at her locker gathering the rest of her belongings before she planned to head home and change. She was meeting some of her friends from Glee Club at Breadsticks later tonight for an impromptu early dinner and she wanted to have enough time for a quick shower and to find a hot outfit. Earlier today at lunch Kurt made her promise to wear the lavender and silver, leopard-print tank top he picked out for her the previous weekend on their trip to the mall. She shook her head and smiled at the current state her life was in. _

_Never had she expected her move from Cincinnati to a 'Where the hell?'/Nowhere town like Lima, Ohio to turn out to be as awesome as it's been. After having moved here in February, she didn't expect much of a warm welcome. She was soft-spoken, smart and followed the beat of her own drum, a recipe for epic disaster when it comes to high school, where individuality usually just gets you labeled a 'loser.' However none of that seemed to prevent her from making fast friends with the members of Mckinley's Glee Club. On her second day, she'd been heard belting out Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' by a flabbergasted Tina Cohen-Chang while walking towards her car at the end of the day. The next thing she knew she was auditioning, subsequently earning a spot on the team and performing in competitions. They'd won at regionals, but placed third at Nationals, which didn't seem like much of a failure to anyone other than Team Captain and H.A.B.I.C. (head ANNOYING bitch in charge) Rachel Berry. Everyone else considered it an honor when you considered the fact that it'd been their first time competing in the event. Mercedes personally couldn't have been more proud since it was also her first time singing for an audience that wasn't family or church members. She even sang lead for their show-stopping final number._

_Fast forward a few weeks and here she is ending the school year and planning to do so by celebrating with her unexpected yet very close group of friends. She was about to close her locker as one of her favorite songs began to play on her IPod and she sang along:_

_"Running hot,_

_Running cold,_

_I was running into overload,_

_That was extreme._

_I took it so high, so low, so long,_

_There was nowhere to go like a bad dream._

_Somehow the wires uncrossed,_

_The tables were turned,_

_Never knew I had such a lesson to learn._

_I'm feeling good from my hat to my shoe,_

_Know where I'm going and I know what to do,_

_I've tidied up my point of view,_

_I've got a new attitude."_

_Sam Evans turned the corner and began walking down the hall towards the school exit. He couldn't wait to get out of here and begin his summer vacation properly, which meant partying with his football teammates and friends, then ending the night with a hot random hook-up. He'd tried the whole relationship thing in the past with his Ex Quinn, but then again she's his Ex for a reason. About 6 weeks into the relationship, he grew tired of her. He wasn't the type to blatantly use a girl for sex, but he'd be lying if he said that it wasn't part of the reason why he lost interest. He'd known Quinn since the 8__th__ grade and didn't want to hurt her feelings by ending things so quickly after she'd given him her virginity. But she wasn't a stupid girl, and she could tell he was no longer happy with their status as a couple. She told him that there were no hard feelings, but the situation still taught him that relationships, even amongst teenagers were nothing to mess around with. At least not 'serious relationships.' _

_If there's one thing Sam Evans doesn't do well, it's take things seriously. He never needed to. Like others in Lima, he was from an upper middle class family making him a classic example of a spoiled rich kid. He didn't always like the stereotype that came with it, especially during elementary school when some of the other kids would accuse him of thinking he was better than the rest of them. For a while, the bullying really bothered him. He'd even asked his parents if they would reconsider sending him to Oakdale Academy, a prestigious prep school that most of the other children in their neighborhood attended. However Nancy and Paul Evans preferred for their children to have a less stuffy atmosphere for learning. His father explained to him that public school would help him to become a well-rounded young man, and that he'd grow to like it once the kids got over him being the new kid. For a while Sam became shy and made no effort to make friends, but soon after he met Michael Chang and they clicked instantly. By 5__th__ grade the two became interested in football and started hanging out with their teammates Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman. _

_Throughout high school, Sam developed an IDGAF attitude only adding to his popularity. Whereas he instantly clicked with his guy friends because of their interests in sports, most girls tend to go for the unobtainable, which meant that they flocked to him on the regular. He wasn't a 'player' so he never took their flirting as anything other than hormonal girl stuff, even if it was a huge ego-booster. _

_As he headed towards the parking lot, he stopped when he heard the sound of a beautiful voice. He directed his attention at a cute, black girl dancing around as she continued singing. He'd seen her around a few times, but just as they were passing each other in the halls or something. He didn't even know her name. But there was something about this moment that made him want to take the initiative. He smiled slightly and moved to stand a bit further behind the corner wall out of her direct sight. He listened as she sang on:_

_"I'm in control,_

_My worries are few,_

_'Cause I got love like I never knew,_

_Ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo..._

_I've got a new attitude."_

_"I'm telling you she was all over me. Not surprising, no one can resist the awesomeness that is, Sir Noah Puckerman. Learn it and know it boys."_

_"Bullshit. Isn't she from 'America's Next Top Model'? Why would she be into you?" Mike asked._

_"Whoa chillax, son. This is a Hater-Free zone. Besides if you really want to know what it is that the ladies can't resist about me, all you gotta do is ask your goth-geisha girlfriend."_

_"Shut up, man. Tina would never go for you. And she's not my girlfriend. We're just…friends."_

_"More like fuck buddies. I'm with Puck, man. There's no way you haven't at least shown her the magic dragon." Finn said as he and Puck high-fived._

_Mike rolled his eyes and chuckled. "You guys and your Asian jokes SUCK!" Mike yelled dramatically at Puck and Finn. He began walking ahead of the other two boys and saw Sam lurking. He slowly tiptoed and snuck up behind him. "Sam!"_

_Sam jumped at the sound of his best friend's voice, completely ready to kill him. "Are you kidding me? What the fuck Mike?"_

_Mike couldn't contain his laughter as he gripped the blonde's shoulders, his head tilted down as he laughed hysterically. "Sorry dude. I couldn't resist. What are you doing anyway?"_

_Sam playfully shoved the Asian boy off of him and tried to divert his attention. He didn't want to seem like he'd been watching the singing girl like a stalker or something. "Nothing. Where the hell were you guys? I was about to leave."_

_Puck and Finn were now standing in front of him. "You can blame Puck for that. He spent forever on the phone. Claims he was breaking up with some model reject." Finn said._

_"Oh I see how it is. I'm going to have to school you too, huh Hudson? Whatever, you cock-blockers wouldn't know anything about it. Am I right Evans?"_

_Sam had once again been too focused on the mystery girl with an amazing voice to hear what was being said. _

_"Evans? Yo Evans, you good?"_

_The other 3 boys turned their attention in the same direction as Sam. They were all in awe at the sight of the short girl singing and dancing while closing her locker. She bent over to pick up her backpack and a tote bag containing the extra contents of her locker. Her dark blue skinny jeans hugged her curves and the sight transfixed them even further. _

_"Well damn. What do we have here?" Puck whistled._

_"She…has…the best ass…ever." Finn stuttered._

_"Ooooh, I get it. You weren't just staring, you were in a trance. Can't say I blame you though, bro. She's hot." _

_"Shut up, Mike! I wasn't staring at her. She just…..well I heard her singing so I turned around and saw her, like right before you guys came up to me."_

_"Yeah well whatever. Excuse me, virgins." Puck brushed past Sam and Mike heading towards Mercedes. When he got to her side he cleared his throat to get her attention. That didn't seem to work. She was stilling listening to her IPod, so he tapped her on the shoulder. _

_Mercedes stopped her packing and turned around to see who was behind her. "Can I help you?" _

_Puck smiled and reached out a hand to help her up into standing position. "Only by giving me permission." _

_Mercedes rolled her eyes and decided to humor him. She plastered on a fake flirty smile. "Give you permission to do what?" _

_"To sample some of your sweet chocolate, sexy mama. I bet you taste delicious." Puck raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it along with her fingertips. _

'Ugh, he must be a football player. God, do they like share pick-up lines? He can't be serious.' _'Mercedes thought as she let out a dry chuckle. "Aren't you charming?" _'Not.'

_Sam was glaring daggers at Puck as he continued to flirt with the curvy songstress. Having heard enough he headed towards the two, Mike and Finn at his sides._

_"Yeah I hear that a lot, but it feels special coming from a goddess like you. So what's your name?"_

_"Mercedes. Yours?"_

_"Noah Puckerman. But as my future baby's mama, you can call me Puck. As in rhymes with-"_

_"Okay, well I hate to interrupt your little chat, but I'm sure this lovely little lady has better things to do than listen to you sound like a desperate idiot, NOAH__**.**__" Sam said. He smiled at Mercedes. "I like your name, Mercedes. Mine's Sam. Sam I am."_

_"Thanks. And let me guess you DON'T like green eggs and ham." Mercedes smiled back._

_Sam laughed. "Exactly."_

_Puck leaned over and whispered in his friend's ear. "Seriously dude? I totally got claim on her, so do me a favor and back the hell off." Puck said. _

_Sam eyed Puck as Mike spoke. "Please ignore my friend's rudeness. I'm Mike and this is Finn." Finn smiled and shook her hand as Mike continued. "I haven't seen you around before, are you new?"_

_"Well not exactly. My family and I moved here in February."_

_"Really? Where are you from?"_

_"Cincinnati. My mom was born and raised here though, and we moved to be close to my grandmother."_

_"Oh that's cool. My dad actually lives in Cincinnati, well for the most part." Puck said._

_"Really? That's awesome." _

_Sam rolled his eyes as the group continued talking and joking. He mentally chastised himself for getting caught watching the girl sing. Now here she was being hit on by Puck of all people. If he'd been more aggressive and just introduced himself instead of lurking like a fool, she would've been speaking to him instead of the other guys. Even though Puck was an ass most of the time, his dating record spoke for itself. He was right. 'Caring is for pussies. You either get some or you are one.' _'Whatever.'_ Sam thought as he decided to just forget about it. If Mercedes wanted Puck in spite of the lame ass pick-up lines, she can have him. _

_Mercedes checked the time on her cell phone and noticed that it was 3:30. She had to get home if she wanted to have enough time to get ready and swing by to pick up Tina. "Damn. Sorry guys but I've actually got to head home. I'm meeting some friends later."_

_Puck pouted. "And you probably want to go home and get even hotter for tonight. We understand. A girl like you is bound to be quite the social butterfly. You're heading over to Breadsticks right?"_

_"Yeah. A few of us from Glee club were going to go. You too?"_

'Glee club. So that explains that voice of hers. No surprise.'_ Sam smirked. _

_"You're in the Glee Club? I didn't even know we had that here." Finn said._

_"Really? Do you know Tina?" asked Mike._

_"Yeah I do. She's a sweetie. Actually she's coming with us tonight." _

_"SO ANYWAY…" Puck loudly interjected as he shoved Mike aside. "…..we planned on going there tonight too. Just a few of us from the football team, maybe some of the cheerleaders, whatever. Hopefully we'll see you there."_

_"Yeah, maybe you will. Bye guys." She smiled and began heading towards the door to exit the school. _

_As she was about to open it, she dropped a few books from her tote bag. Sam instinctively went to help her. He picked them up and handed them to her. "Here you go."_

"_Oh thanks…" Their hands touched and there was a moment when she felt a rush of electricity. _

_Sam felt it too and smiled. "…..No problem." _

_She smiled back and placed the last book into her bag before she pushed the door open, all the while forcing herself to keep walking instead of looking back to see if he was watching her. Sam couldn't stop smiling if he tried as he and his friends looked on speechless until she reached her car._

_*End of Flashback*_

"Sam? Hey! What are you doing here?" She almost didn't recognize him. He cut off his platinum blonde locks now sporting a shorter, almost strawberry-blonde haircut, and got even more muscular over the summer. He wore a blue hoodie with a white t-shirt underneath, black jeans and black chucks. He was gorgeous.

Sam looked at Mercedes in obvious shock to see her and smiled. Her hair was in a side-swept ponytail and she was wearing a red haltered sundress with black leggings, a blue denim jacket and black gladiator sandals. She looked stunning. "Hey yourself Mercedes. I'm just…you know here…visiting a friend." _'Not a total lie,' _he thought. He didn't want her to know where he was really headed. It probably already looked pretty bad that he was on this side of town this late by himself anyway and for some reason her opinion mattered to him. He wasn't in that big of a rush though, and he didn't want the opportunity of having a chance to speak one-on-one with Mercedes to go to waste, so he bent down to pick up the fallen items and asked her a few questions. "What are you doing here though? You excited for school on Tuesday?"

She smiled as he handed it all to her. "Thanks. We're on our way to my grandma's house. Our family reunion is tomorrow so we're staying over. As for school, surprisingly yeah, I am pretty excited. My schedule's great so this year should be easy. What about you?"

"Same. My classes should go better than last year. But then again you never know I guess."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well…" He was once again apprehensive about telling her such shameful information. His dyslexia was something that remained an issue in more ways than one and he didn't want her to think he was stupid. "I'm not really that into school."

"Oh. Well, that's okay. No one really is for the most part. But then again this is senior year. What colleges are you interested in?"

"Ohio State. Hopefully on a football scholarship."

"Wow, me too! Well not for football, but you know what I mean." She chuckled.

Sam smiled at her shyness, thinking it made her even cuter.

Suddenly they were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps as Alice approached the two. She smiled and addressed Mercedes first. "Honey, it's getting late so we've got to get going." She faced Sam and held out her hand. "Hi there. My name's Alice, I'm Mercedes mom."

Sam shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Sam. Sam Evans."

"He's a friend of mine from school." Mercedes said.

Sam smiled. She called him her 'friend' and was introducing him to her mom.

"Oh, so he's what you'd call a 'white chocolate, brother from another mother,' huh?" Alice asked with a million-dollar grin as she playfully nudged a laughing Sam on the arm.

Mercedes was rendered momentarily speechless. She brought up her hand to cover her face in shame and shook her head. "You have got. To be. Kidding me."

They all then heard the muffled sounds of a voice. Mercedes looked down in her hand and realized that Kurt was on the phone. "Oh shoot! Kurt? Hey, give me a second okay?" She lowered the phone from her ear and looked at her mom. "Um, you mind ringing up our stuff, cool mama?"

"Sure my cool daughter." She took the items and started for the register. "It was nice meeting you Sam."

"You too." He smiled.

When Alice was gone, Mercedes spoke again. "Sam, I am so sorry. I don't know why she does that. Ugh, so embarrassing."

"Hey, I'm sure she's not the worst. Your mom seems nice."

"Yeah well easy for you to say, you don't have to put up with it on a regular basis. Call it her midlife crisis."

"AW, QUIT COMPLAINING." Shouted an amused Kurt.

"Ugh!" Mercedes rolled her eyes. "I forgot again. You're on speakerphone, Kurt so stop shouting. Sorry Sam."

"Sam? I'm the one you left hanging on the line like some stank swimsuit! What about me?"

"Shut up." Mercedes said with an annoyed chuckle and spoke to Sam. "Madness, right?"

He smiled. He was about to say something when they had another interruption. Angelo entered the store and called for Mercedes and Alice. "Mercy? Mom, we're going to be a while. Dad went across the street to the gas station to speak to someone about the oil light. It keeps coming on and he's getting paranoid." He headed for the bathroom.

"Are you serious?" Mercedes sighed. Things were not going as planned. "Well I'll text gran to let her know we'll be by later." She took the phone off speaker. "Kurt? I'm going to call you back later."

"K You better. I've got to hear about what's going on with you and Ken doll Evans. Be good, sexy."

"You are horrible. Later." Mercedes hung up just as Sam finished texting someone. "Sorry about all the interruptions. I guess I should get going."

Sam put his hands in his pocket. "No problem. I've got to head out too. So…I guess I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah, see you on Monday."

"Bye," He waved.

"Bye." Mercedes watched as he exited the store, staring at his backside until she was interrupted by the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat. She jumped and turned around to see her mother smiling from ear to ear holding the bags which contained the party supplies. "OMG mom. What is up with you?" asked Mercedes as she began laughing.

"I should ask you the same thing. I saw that look just now. He's a cutie, huh?"

Mercedes' face became hot and she lowered her head before speaking. "I'm not saying anything. Let's get going." She started towards the door.

"Mmmhmm. We've got to wait for your brother. Angel! Hurry up let's go!" Alice shouted towards the bathroom.

The 22-year old hurried out and slowly peeped around the store before addressing his mother. "Mom. 'Angel?' I told you I hate it when you call me that."

"And that's supposed to make me love it any less? Come give mommy a kiss?" She playfully puckered her lips and pinched her son's cheeks.

"Yyyeah, I don't think so." Angelo ran out of the store.

Mercedes and Alice laughed as they headed for the door. "Now that's when you should use your powers, for good not evil. Terrorizing Angelo's fine, but me…" Mercedes pointed to herself. "No!"

"Okay. I promise I'll remember that for the future."

* * *

Sam had been on the road for about 15 minutes and finally made it to the Motel6. Something about seeing Mercedes tonight really unnerved him about his plans for the evening. Her presence was like a sign. Even her kind words of encouragement about school spoke volumes. _'I shouldn't be doing this.' _He thought about leaving when a blue Escalade pulled up in front of the green Prius.

The car came to a stop and the driver's side door opened. The driver exited and made his way over to Sam. "Hey QB, how's it going 'Sam the man'?" The tall brunette young man in his early 20s smiled at the younger teen boy and reached out to grab his hand. He pulled him in for a brief embrace.

Sam relaxed a bit and managed to return the smile. "Hey Brody, what's up? Just busy with football practice, you know."

"I'll bet. I remember those days, although I didn't have BEAST for a coach. How's the team looking lately? Are the new freshmen any good this year?" Brody asked as he headed back over to his truck. He went to the back, opened the trunk and began unloading several cases of beer.

Sam headed over to help him. "They're okay. I'm not worried about it though. I make the calls and I wouldn't set us up for a fail, even if I had to play alone."

"That's what I like to hear. Taking control, that's what QBs are supposed to do." Brody said as he picked up a few cases and headed for the motel room knocking when he got there. Sam picked up the remaining cases and followed him.

After a few seconds the door to room 8 opened. A slender brunette currently sporting a red fedora stood in the doorway. "HHHEEEYYYY, MAN!" She slurred, clearly drunk. "About time you got here." She clung to Brody in a gigantic hug.

He laughed and grabbed the girl's hands prying them from his neck. "Marley what the hell? Come on you know drunk breath and shitfaced wasted aren't attractive."

Marley let go of his shoulders and grabbed his hand pulling him into the motel room.

'Rock that Body' by the Black-Eyed Peas blasted from the speakers as Sam entered behind him and looked around seeing how crowded it was. He hadn't expected this many people to be here this early. It was only 9pm. Sam rarely missed parties, especially the ones that included the older crowd, but he suddenly wasn't in the mood for staying too long. This party in particular had more college-aged people here than normal. In fact the only people Sam recognized from McKinley were Dave and Azimio, who were currently downing shots while being cheered on by other party-goers.

Marley led them to a corner where they had a seat. Marley got them a few beers and some tequila shots. Brody convinced Sam to have a few, and they took their shots before they began talking to a few other guys, occasionally sipping the beer.

About half an hour and 4 beers later, Marley came back over. "Sam, I can't take it. Your PUSSY-cat's being a whiny bitch again. She's been moping all night waiting for you to show."

Sam groaned, not at all in the mood to deal with any drama tonight. "Great." He said sarcastically while opening another beer. "I might as well get this over with. Where is she?"

"She's in the bathroom drowning her sorrows. I'll get her." Marley got up and trotted over to the bathroom.

Intoxicated or not, Sam knew when something just wasn't worth it. He took one last sip of his drink before sitting it on the table and trying to stand up. "You know, I think I'm going to head out man. I got a lot to do it the morning." Sam lied.

Brody put down his beer bottle and pulled Sam back down. "Nooo, there's no way you're leaving me with the lushes tonight. Come on man, stay a while."

Sam sighed and straightened up in his chair just as a petite blonde fell over into his lap. "What? You were just gonna leave without even speaking to me? That's so not nice…" slurred the drowsy drunk girl.

"Katrina, get off of me. You're drunk and I'm not dealing with your shit tonight." Sam said. He grabbed the drink previously on the table and had another sip, now totally uncomfortable with the situation.

"Ugh, do not fucking call me that. I like Kitty better. You know that, Sammy…"

Sam tried removing the girl from his lap. "Yeah well I like my space. I guess we both lose."

"Nooooo Sammy. Don't be like that. Aren't you…happy to see me?" She said as she began lightly touching and cupping him through his jeans. Sam saw the look in her eyes and focused on his drink, taking slow sips as she continued touching him. "Come on Sammy. Pleeaaassee?" She licked his neck and began kissing it. Sam all the while fought the urge to take her to the back room. Sure she was annoying and clingy as hell, especially when she was drunk, but he had to admit that her advances were starting to get to him. "I haven't seen you all summer. Don't you miss me? Miss us?"

Now that did it. Sam finally gathered the strength to push her off him. "No. 'WE' were a few drunken hook-ups. That's it." Sam got up right as Kitty gave him a sloppy kiss. She forced her tongue in his mouth and he fought the urge to gag. He got her off of him, grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. _'What the fuck was I thinking?' _

As he approached his car, Sam put on his jacket. He opened the door, got inside and put the key into the ignition. Just as he was about to start driving he felt a headache coming on. He rubbed his temples and slowly began looking around the car to see if his mom still had her emergency aspirin supply in the glove compartment. Sam saw that it wasn't there and decided to call Mike to pick him up. He reached into his coat pocket for his cell phone when he felt something. He was pleasantly surprised to find just what he'd been looking for, a round pill that he assumed was a Tylenol. '_Yes.'_ Without hesitation he popped it into his mouth and dry-swallowed the pill hoping it'd keep his headache at bay long enough for him to make it home.

* * *

"Well, I'm glad it was a simple fix. Now we can make it to your grandma's house before it gets too late." Melvin said as he pulled out of the service station parking lot and onto the road.

"That's just it dad. It WAS simple. We wasted like a whole hour just for that over-charging idiot to tell us what we already knew, that there was something wrong with the engine. He didn't do anything else." Angelo said.

"Well I'd rather be safe than sorry. It could've been something more serious. We don't want to be stuck out here in the middle of the night."

"I know that's right. This whole area is like a forest. There are probably a bunch creepy crawlers lurking out here. Besides, the gas station attendant was cute. I say it was time well spent." Mercedes smiled.

Melvin looked at his daughter in the rearview mirror, panic etching his face. "What gas station attendant? Where was I? He didn't try anything, did he Honey?"

Mercedes smiled at her father. "Oh, it was nothing daddy. Don't worry."

Melvin nervously chuckled. "That was not funny. Mercy you almost gave me a heart attack." They all laughed knowing how serious he was.

As the minutes passed the family quieted down, clearly exhausted. Melvin continued driving, while Alice and Angelo slept and Mercedes texted Kurt before she put in her earphones and fell asleep as well.

* * *

Sam was feeling a bit out of sorts. It'd been 15 minutes since he took the Tylenol and he only seemed to be feeling weirder. Sure his headache was gone, but his mood seemed to constantly change, something he had no control over. Instead of being pissed and ready to head home, he was now feeling more upbeat and regretted leaving. He knew that this was the last party of the summer and as such he should be there. On top of that, he could go for another beer. Maybe after he got another drink in his system he could handle dealing with the girls there long enough to find one worth keeping for the night. _'Fuck it. I didn't come out here for nothing.' _With his mind made up, he pulled the car to a stop and decided to turn around and head back. He hit the gas and attempted to make a sloppy U-turn in the middle of the nearly deserted street, ignoring the headlights from another vehicle as it approached. It wasn't until he heard the screeching of tires, the crushing of metal and a loud BOOM that he realized what happened.

* * *

**A/N: **The songs mentioned in this chapter are listed below:

"New Attitude" by Patti Labelle

"Respect" by Aretha Franklin

"Check it Out" by Nicki Minaj and WillIAm

"Rock that body" by Black eyed peas

(Disclaimer: I don't own these songs or Glee.)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Thanks for the support for the last chapter. This one is pretty heavy, but important for the direction of rest of the story. Enjoy!

* * *

"God I hate this car. Dumbass radio, change the FUCKING STATION!" yelled a hyperactive Sam. He was on the road trying to focus on getting home safely, but it was becoming increasingly hard as his mind wandered. It was strange. One moment he was anxious to get home, head for his room and go straight to sleep, yet now all he could think about was getting out of the confines of his car and attempting to dance his 'white-chocolate' ass off. He tried to calm his nerves by focusing on finding some decent music. He began manually scanning through radio stations continuously coming up short. Growing frustrated, he switched to his IPod and put it on shuffle, but all that got him was an endless amount of old-school Rap and bubble-gum Pop. He grunted. "Dammit. I'm going to kill Stevie and Stacey." He turned off his IPod and heard 'The Carpal Tunnel of Love' begin playing on one of the radio stations he found before. "Finally," he grinned and cranked up the volume, bobbing his head to the music.

* * *

Melvin continued driving and grew tired of the contents of his kids' CDs. He decided to turn on the radio instead and found a station that was currently playing an older song. He smiled and hummed along, the sounds waking up his previously sleeping wife.

She slowly opened her eyes and turned on her side to see her husband singing softly. She smiled and sat up. "Is that 'You're all I need to get by'?"

Melvin turned to look at Alice and nodded before he grabbed her left hand and brought it up to his mouth for a sweet kiss. "You know after all these years this still gets to me?"

"I'd hoped so, considering it's our wedding song." Alice smirked as she linked her fingers with her husband's and they sang softly together. "Do you remember our first dance as husband and wife?"

Melvin laughed. "Yes. I remember how excited I was to wrap my arms around you. That made the fact that I was going to dance in front of a large crowd a lot less frightening."

"I still don't understand why you don't like dancing. You're not bad so I know it's not because of that."

"I don't know. Maybe it's something special that I only share with the ladies in my life. Before you I'd only dance with my mother, and now Mercy." He said as he looked into the rearview mirror and smiled at his daughter sleeping in the backseat.

Alice looked at her children. She reached out and caressed her daughter's cheek. "I think you're right, especially when she was younger. I remember how she would try to teach you a new dance move at least every weekend. Angelo too, until he got old enough to realize it was pointless." She smiled. "You guys would spend hours doing that and then they'd make you perform it for me after you 'practiced.'"

"Yeah, I remember being especially proud of my success with the worm. She never gave up on me."

Alice laughed a little louder which prompt Angelo awake.

He sat up a little and rubbed his eyes. "Geez we're still not there yet?" He asked tiredly.

"We'll be there soon, but for now you should go on back to sleep." Alice said.

"I'm not that tired. Besides I'm going to have to help dad unload the bags and the rest of our stuff from the trunk anyway."

"We'll wake you up. We've still got a little while before we get there son." Melvin said.

Angelo yawned. "Okay." He rested his head against the backseat headrest.

Alice smiled. "That didn't take much convincing."

* * *

Sam continued to move his head from side to side and his mouth along to the music playing. He had only driven a few more miles before his anxious mood swing came back in full force. As he approached a red light, the thought of heading back to the motel crept back up and this time he chose to go with the idea. _'It's no big deal. Mom and dad will probably think I'm staying over at Puck's house or something.' _He made the decision to turn around as his cell phone began ringing from inside the coat pocket. He reached inside to pull it out. In his current state, he couldn't remember his password and fumbled for quite some time before giving up and putting down the phone. He decided not to wait for the next intersection before turning and stopped where he was. "Whatever. Nobody's out here anyway." He put the car in reverse to move back a bit before putting it back in drive.

Melvin and Alice were enjoying their quiet time, singing soft melodies to each other and discussing past memories. As a commercial came on the radio station they were currently listening to, Alice leaned forward to find another station. As they came to a stop sign, Melvin looked ahead and saw the green Prius. "That's a nice car. I wonder why someone would just leave it in the middle of the street like that.

Alice looked up and saw it. "Hmm, I don't know. Do you think they need help?"

Melvin slowed down in case she was right. He saw the headlights come on and the car move backwards. "No the driver's inside. I think they're okay." He steadily increased his speed as they approached the car.

Sam looked back up and immediately stepped on the gas totally shocked to see the side of a Red Minivan in front of him. "Whoa! What the-" He abruptly stopped just barely avoiding contact with the car. As he slammed down on the break he flew forward and hit his head hard against the steering wheel.

Melvin saw the car jerk forward and get dangerously close. "Watch out!" he yelled as he swerved to avoid it. The violent movement immediately woke up Mercedes and Angelo. Alice screamed when Melvin lost control of the wheel and went over the guardrail causing the minivan to be flipped on its side. Everyone began screaming. The vehicle rolled down a hill. Melvin felt his stomach drop as he realized there wasn't anything he could do to stop this. He prayed as he tried adjusting the steering wheel and stomping on the brake, but it was no use as they came to a sudden stop when they crash into a large tree.

* * *

Sam slowly lifted his head in pain. He groaned as he rubbed his forehead and squinted to adjust his now poor vision. "Ah…Fuck that hurt." He slowly looked to his right and then to his left and was a bit confused that there was no other car around. He continued rubbing his head and winced when he felt a sore spot. He saw his reflection in the driver's side window and saw that his forehead was bleeding. He sighed deeply and mentally scolded himself for being so focused on the party and not on the road. He shut off the car radio and moved to begin driving again, much slower this time and very confused about what had happened.

Eventually Sam arrives home. He pulls into the driveway and parks the car. On unsteady legs he gets out and closes the car door as quietly as possible. He heads for the back door and notices no lights are on. _'Good, no one's home.' _He breathes out a sigh of relief, takes out his keys and opens the door. He turns on the kitchen light and walks over to the refrigerator taking out a bottle of water before heading upstairs. He opens the door to his bedroom while placing the water bottle against his head, and begins dragging his feet over to his bed. He plops down and buries his face underneath his pillows, then puts the water down on his bedside table and tries taking off his shoes, but he doesn't get too far as he's suddenly overtaken by nausea. Without a second thought, he flees to the bathroom just barely reaching the toilet. _'Ugh, what the hell is wrong with me?' _

After a few rounds of retching, he begins feeling a bit better and forces himself up off the bathroom floor and over to the sink to rinse his mouth and wash his face. He looks at his reflection for a while and frowns as he begins thinking about his behavior. He shakes his head in frustration. _'Stupid.' _When he's done he heads back to his room and sits on the bed, kicking off his shoes and then getting rid of his jacket. He takes of his shirt and jeans now only in his boxers. He takes a few more sips of water before lying down and almost instantly falling asleep.

* * *

Loud sirens were heard as several ambulances arrived at Fairfield County Hospital. The first one quietly stopped. The deceased body was unloaded and taken through the hospital entrance. The second ambulance pulled to a stop, the doors flew open and the paramedics scrambled out as more doctors and nurses rushed over to assist. They pulled out the victim's stretcher quickly though being careful not to detach the oxygen mask, currently the only device keeping him alive.

Mercedes was in the third truck. She lay back listening to the blended sounds of sirens, a heart monitor and frantic talking as they pulled into the hospital parking lot. She slowly opened her eyes again for the first time since entering the truck. She was startled to find it nearly impossible to move her neck, but held it together long enough to realize that she had on a neck brace. She looked down to see an IV in her right arm. When she moved in an attempt to sit up, she felt an intensely sore pain in her left shoulder that traveled down to the rest of her arm. She winced and closed her eyes again as she moved slowly to lie back down. An EMT rushed to her side. "Whoa, take it easy okay Mercedes? We're here and we're going to get you inside now, okay sweetheart? You're going to be fine." Said the young crew member.

Mercedes looked at the woman as she checked the IV. "How do you know my name?"

The woman looked a little worried. She shared a glance with the other crew member in back as he continued checking the other passenger's vitals. "You told me when we first got to you, honey. Do you remember?"

Mercedes frowned a bit at those words. She'd hoped it was all a bad dream, and was devastated to learn that it was in fact real. She nodded her head.

"Be careful. Don't move around too much." Said the worker as the back doors of the truck opened quickly.

Mercedes watched as several doctors and nurses removed the second gurney from the truck. Her eyes widened when she saw her mother, lying there unconscious with her face, head and neck wrapped heavily in bandages. It took nearly all her energy to hold back the tears. "Mom…..oh God, please be okay. Please, you have to be okay." She prayed, her eyes following her mom towards the building. Mercedes was then removed from the truck as well, quickly yet gently and they rushed her inside the hospital.

Once inside she felt blinded as she looked up and around at all the bright lights and walls. She spoke quietly. "Where are you taking me? Where…where is my family?"

A nurse looked down and grabbed her right hand. "We're taking you to the ICU. Your family is there as well."

"But…I'm okay. Please…..." She cried.

"Calm down, honey. You'll be fine, I promise." She said as they came into a room and immediately removed Mercedes from the stretcher and onto an operating table.

A doctor entered the room and came over to where the large staff of nurses crowded around his new patient, speaking words of encouragement and urging her to stay calm as the doctor was on his way. He came over to her side. He addressed the nurses first. "What do we have?"

"A young female car crash victim. She was conscious upon our arrival and told us that she felt no pain aside from a sore shoulder and arm, but given the severity of the crash we got her on the gurney just to be safe. She seemed a bit tired after we loaded her into the truck so we got her the IV."

He wrote down the notes and set down his clipboard before speaking again, this time to Mercedes. "Hello young lady. I'm Dr. McConnell. Can you tell me your name?"

Mercedes looked up at him. The first thing she noticed was his bright blue eyes from behind his glasses. He looked to be in his early 30s, though still very youthful and attractive with short black hair and a muscular built, noticeable even underneath his scrubs and white coat. "…Mercedes."

He smiled. "Mercedes. That's a beautiful name. I'm going to ask you a few questions Mercedes, to make sure you weren't injured too seriously."

"But I think I'm okay. My arm hurts, but that's it."

"The thing is, with auto accidents sometimes certain symptoms can appear later on. The nurse said that you seemed tired after they put you in the truck?"

Mercedes didn't speak. She knew he was right. She nodded.

"It's nothing to worry about. Your vitals seem stable, but we should get you an X-ray when we're all done here." He said as a nurse headed outside the room to go make the arrangements. "Okay, let's get started." He said as he slowly removed her neck brace with the help of another nurse. He felt around her neck and collarbone for any fractures or broken bones. When he got no objections from Mercedes, he spoke up to ask her about it. "Do you feel any discomfort?"

"No. Actually it kind of tickles."

He smiled and felt around her temple and scalp. When she told him she felt fine, he took his ophthalmoscope out of his coat pocket and checked her vision. When he was done, he and the nurses removed her jacket. She shivered, her arms now exposed due to the fact that her sundress is sleeveless. He went over to the sink to wash his hands and get some alcohol wipes and bandages. When he came back over the nurses were helping her to sit up and bring her to the edge of the table. He thanked them and headed back over.

He slowly removed the IV from Mercedes' arm and put a Band-Aid over the area. "Okay, now I want to test your reflexes." He moved her legs, bending them at the knees and then focused on her arms, moving and bending her right one. When he walked over to her left side, he knew immediately that her shoulder was dislocated, not just from the bruised appearance but from the way she immediately brought her right hand underneath to cradle her arm as if she was unable to support its weight naturally. From the looks of it she had a fracture at the elbow as well. He wiped it gently with the alcohol wipes, cleaning the excessive amounts of blood.

He was about to check her arm further, but was interrupted as another doctor came to the doorway and called him over. Dr. McConnell frowned and went over to the man. "I'll be back. Nurse Fields, she needs to be prepped before the X-ray." He said before leaving the room.

The middle-aged nurse nodded before turning and starting for a drawer next to the sink. She removed a hospital gown and came back over to Mercedes. "Okay, change into this so we can take you over to radiation soon. You can change in the bathroom over there." She pointed to the corner of the room. "Can you stand?"

Mercedes nodded. The women helped her off the table and walked her over to the door. Once there she thanked them and walked inside. They began leaving the room, one nurse going across the hall to get a wheelchair another reviewing her chart.

Mercedes closed the door and sighed, thankful for the momentary quiet time alone as images of the accident and her injured family members filled her head. She turned around and looked into the mirror, shocked at her own appearance. Her ponytail was messy, she had some cuts and scrapes on her chin and cheeks, and her left arm looked horrible. Though it didn't hurt as much anymore, it was still very sore and bruised, small amounts of blood could be seen beginning to appear underneath the bandages. She slowly removed her dress with her right arm. She was able to see some smaller cuts, especially on her hands and feet. She had a bruised scrape on the left side of her stomach. Already tired and sore again, she left her shoes on, and put the gown on over her underclothes and leggings. It fit her like a tent, which she was glad about since the hospital was so cold.

She opened the bathroom door and headed back over to the table where she saw the wheelchair. She figured they were taking her straight to radiology, so she headed over towards the wheelchair to have a seat.

However on her way, she heard the frantic yelling of doctors and nurses and some began rushing towards a room a few doors down from her at the end of the hospital wing. She walked over to the doorway of the room and saw doctors surrounding someone. She moved her head slightly to get a better look and recognized the man as her father.

"Daddy! Oh no. What's happening to him?" She asked as she heard his heart monitor going crazy. She saw doctors begin hooking him up to a defibrillator.

"Ma'am, please. We're going to need you to stay back while this is done." She recognized him as the doctor that came to her room for assistance. She watched on as they tried reviving her father. Mercedes put her hand over her mouth and began crying again as Nurse Fields came from down the hall and wrapped her in her arms, trying to take her back to her room. They hadn't even taken three steps before they heard the steady beat from the monitor as her father flat-lined. Mercedes spun around and saw the doctors lower their heads and call the time of death.

She screamed as she was taken back to her room. The middle-aged woman called for help when Mercedes began gasping for air. Other nurses came over, all trying to get her to relax. Two others brought in a bed for her to rest.

While they adjusted her bed, she looked out to the hall and saw two nurses standing at the nurse's station. They sadly watched as the stretcher was rolled down the hall, the body covered from head to toe with a single white bed sheet.

A minute later, Mercedes was somewhat calmer though she continued crying as the doctor that worked on her father called over one of the women.

The younger nurse nodded her head and went over to the man. They only spoke for a moment before she headed back over to the desk and began dialing out on the phone.

The second nurse spoke. "God, can you believe this? Losing two people on the same day?"

The other woman covered the phone with her hand. "Make that three…Doctor Hartley heard back from the O.R…The woman just passed away. She didn't make it through the surgery."

Mercedes' felt hollow. The statement instantly sunk in and caused her to realize all that had truly happened tonight. The fact that her family was dead was the only thing she could think of, before collapsing onto the cold floor underneath her.

* * *

**A/N: **Intense huh?

But hey, at least it's out of the way. Now that the pretty much most of the hurt is over, we can focus on the healing, which I'm very excited to begin writing. Let me know what you think with a review or PM!

Songs mentioned are:

"The Carpal Tunnel of Love" by Fall Out Boy

"You're all I need to get by" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell


	3. Chapter 3

The hospital was quiet as Mercedes lay in bed battered, bruised and broken-hearted.

It's 12:45 am.

For the past hour she's been an emotional wreck, though she wouldn't show it. After her breakdown earlier that night she's been totally silent, reduced to quiet nods or shakes of the head to communicate with the nurses and doctors. She stared at a bouquet of roses on top of the table between the TV and a window, as memories of the accident that claimed the lives of her mother, father and brother continued to cloud her mind and heart.

She felt frozen, powerless and trapped within herself. Feelings she'd never imagine would come upon her were rushing in at an all too rapid pace and it was overwhelming.

_'Why is this all happening?'_ was the question she asked herself over and over again. It didn't make any sense.

She began thinking about her immediate reaction to the news.

The moment she first knew things would never be the same.

_*flashback*_

_"We need help here!"_

_Mercedes faintly heard the older woman earlier identified as Nurse Fields yell out as she and a younger nurse began checking her pulse. They were able to breathe a small sigh of relief when they discovered it, though not very steady._

_Her eyes remained closed as other hospital staff rushed over, Dr. McConnell leading the way. The nurses had Mercedes lifted and on the bed by the time the doctor made his way over. He saw his young patient seemingly unconscious and immediately took action. He lowered the rails of the bed and lifted Mercedes' head as he began speaking. "Mercedes?"_

_She didn't move._

_The doctor began to grow concerned and spoke again. "Mercedes? Can you hear me?" _

'Y-Yes…I think so.'_ Mercedes thought as she began to struggle with her own body, slowly willing herself awake, though the task proved to be very hard as her eyes grew increasingly heavy and her body felt numb._

_The doctor raised her right eyelid and was pleased to see her slowly attempt to blink. He signaled for the younger nurse to assist him. The woman stood on the other side of the bed as Dr. McConnell instructed her to re-administer the IV. _

_Mercedes' once still face began scrunching up slightly as the needle entered her arm. Once the nurse was done Mercedes was able to clearly hear them speaking._

_"Doctor, should we contact her next of kin?" _

_He was checking her pulse on her neck and noticed it was beginning to regain normal speed. "Yes." His eyes remained on Mercedes' face. She slowly opened her eyes and he spoke again. "I think it's important that it gets done as soon as possible."_

_After a short time spent answering the doctor's questions, Mercedes was taken down to get her X-Ray. Although setting her dislocated shoulder was pretty simple, unfortunately she did suffer a break of the ulna bone near her elbow, which accounted for the swelling and bruising. Between Mercedes' apparent lack of extreme pain and her history of no prior injuries, right now they weren't sure if she'd need surgery or if they'd allow the break to heal naturally with eventual physical therapy. Given all that she'd been through, they wanted to give her some time to rest before speaking to a specialist. She was fitted for a cast and taken to her own room on the second floor of the hospital._

_*End of flashback*_

Mercedes closed her eyes as more tears began to escape. She didn't want to think about anything at all, in fear that the slightest thought would lead back to that fateful crash. She adjusted her position in the bed, looking up at the cream-colored ceiling for a while before finally dosing off.

* * *

Walking quickly through the sliding glass doors of the hospital entrance, Edna-Ruth and her youngest child Marie were unstoppable as they went straight to the front desk.

A worker saw the two women heading over and spoke. "Ladies, how may I help you?"

"Yes. We got a call about my granddaughter Mercedes Jones. I was told that she was brought here. Something about a car accident?" The elderly woman said.

"Mercedes Jones? I think she was moved from the ICU. One moment please, I'll call the nurses' station on the second floor."

Edna-Ruth nodded her head and turned to look at her teary-eyed daughter.

The younger woman spoke up. "Mama, I don't feel good about this. Why haven't we heard anything about Alice, Angelo or Melvin?"

Always the optimistic, Edna-Ruth gave a soft smile before wrapping her arms around Marie. She felt her shaking with fear but forced herself to remain strong. "Sweetheart, I'm sure they're fine. Things might have been touch-and-go at first and the doctors chose not to say too much until they knew for sure. Besides, you know they usually don't tell much of anything at all over the phone. Things will work out, honey. Just have faith." She felt her daughter nod her head and smiled again.

Though she tried hiding it, Edna-Ruth knew the truth. As she always says, _"you don't live as long as I have without knowing the way of the world." _ Most of the time the phrase refers to her idea of following her gut instincts. They'd never failed her before, and no matter how much she hoped they would now, she knew what she knew_,_ and nothing could change it. In spite of the harsh reality they would now face, she knew that she also had to tend to what was most important: her surviving granddaughter. Mercedes was still here and needed them. She'd save her own tears for later in the sanctity of her bedroom late at night when she's alone, the way she always has. Her family depended on her resilience and she would not fail them.

The moment was interrupted when the desk worker spoke again. "Ma'am, your granddaughter is on the second floor in the recovery unit, room 109. I can take you up there right now." She signaled for another staff worker to come over and told him to cover for her at the desk.

The women thanked her as she got up from her seat and they all walked over to elevator.

As they reached the second floor, they stepped out of the elevator. Edna-Ruth saw two police officers standing down at the other end of the hall as they walked to the nurses' station. Once there, the worker told the waiting nurse to call for Dr. McConnell. While waiting, Marie looked around and noticed they were in front of rooms 102 and 103 which meant they were close.

After a minute the doctor got there. He greeted the two women. "Hello ladies. My name is Dr. Ethan McConnell. I examined Mercedes upon her arrival earlier tonight."

"Is she okay? What happened?" Marie asked nervously.

"I'm happy to tell you she is going to be just fine, which is remarkable considering the severity of the crash. She made it out okay, with the exception of her left arm and shoulder. Aside from that she's got some scrapes and bruises." He paused before speaking again. "There was one more thing. She passed out for a short moment about an hour ago." He continued before the women got too worried. "But it was only for a few minutes and her vitals have been fine ever since. Trust me, there's no need to worry." He said before calling over the two officers.

The women watched as the officers made their way over. The two men stood in front of them next to the doctor. The first officer spoke. "Ladies." He greeted with a sharp nod of the head and a smile. "I'm Officer Martin Harper and this is Officer Nathaniel Rodriguez. If now's not an inconvenient time for you, we'd like to discuss the events that transpired tonight involving your family.

The women looked at each other briefly before Edna-Ruth addressed the men. "I guess now's as good a time as any. But we'd appreciate it if you could make this as quick as possible for the time being, I'd like to see my granddaughter."

"Yes of course ma'am. We understand." Officer Harper said before taking out a notepad and pen. "As I'm sure the doctor has informed you, around 10 pm tonight, four people were the victims of an automobile accident on Vine St. Identified as Mercedes Jones, Angelo Jones, Melvin Jones and Alice Tilden-Jones. Can you tell us your relation to the four people I named?"

"Certainly, Mercedes and Angelo are my grandchildren, Melvin is my son in-law and Alice is my daughter."

He jotted down the information. "Okay. And you ma'am?" He asked while looking at Marie.

"Oh well, Alice is my sister so…" She trailed off figuring the officer got the idea. She hadn't really wanted to engage in the conversation in fear that she'd choke on her words.

"I understand." He said sensing the woman's anxiety. He figured there was no point in keeping them in suspense any longer. "Well…" He hesitated before continuing. He looked at the women. "I'm sorry to inform you both about this. But…-"

"They're dead aren't they?" Marie interrupted as tears fell from her eyes. "My sister and my brother in-law? My nephew…" She wiped her eyes. "God, they're dead…right?"

Both men lowered their heads before Officer Rodriguez spoke. "Yes ma'am. We're truly very sorry for your losses."

Marie turned to her mother and hugged her tightly as she continued crying.

The older woman shushed her daughter while gently rubbing her back. "Thank you." She gave a small smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Unfortunately, due to the nature of the incident, we have reason to believe that there might be a missing party involved."

Edna-Ruth looked at the men with a shocked expression. "What are you talking about?" She asked. "Are you saying that someone…someone HIT them? That someone else caused this? Is that honestly what you're telling me?" She shook with anger.

"Well, we're not exactly sure how everything occurred. We found tire marks a few feet away from the damaged guardrail. Based on your granddaughter's 911 call and what forensics were able to recover, we assume this is where the accident began. Although the car was heavily damaged, we have no evidence that another vehicle was the cause of any damage done."

By now Marie had calmed down a bit and stood straight up. "So what are you saying?"

"We do have reason to believe that the second party fled the scene. Although we don't know what part this person may have had in this incident, we are doing everything in our power to find him or her and find out."

The women listened carefully and nodded their heads. "Thank you, Officers." Edna-Ruth said as she reached out to shake their hands. "If that's all, I'd like to get to Mercedes now."

"Absolutely, you two have a good night. Best wishes to your granddaughter." The officers bid their goodbyes before heading for the elevators.

After the men left, the ladies turned their attention to Dr. McConnell who took them to Mercedes' room.

* * *

As they entered the room, they saw Mercedes sleeping. Edna-Ruth quietly came to stand next to her. Upon seeing her tear-stained cheeks, Edna-Ruth reached out to lend her granddaughter a comforting hand. She rubbed Mercedes' arm abruptly waking her up. "NO! NO! NOOOO! PLEASE NO! I'M SORRY!" Mercedes yelled as she awoke from a nightmare at the feeling of someone touching her good arm. She flailed around in bed and saw her aunt, grandmother and Dr. McConnell.

The older woman tried shushing the girl and eventually got her relaxed. She began stroking her hair back, as it was currently matted against Mercedes' forehead due to the sweat. "Shhhh, it's okay. I'm so sorry baby. I didn't mean to startle you." The woman said, immediately feeling guilty about the panic she caused upon the teenager. "Gran's here now." She kissed Mercedes forehead.

Mercedes had been a bit out of it when she first woke up, but she slowly became more relaxed, even smiling a bit at her grandmother's sentiment.

The older woman noticed and smiled as well. "There's my girl. She's coming back to us isn't she?"

When Marie thought she was finally able to handle it, she wiped her face with the back of her hand and came over to the bed. She casted a sad smile, her tear-filled eyes only adding to her obvious sorrow. "Hey Kiddo." She kissed her niece on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"

Mercedes looked at her and held back her tears. Her throat was scratchy so she spoke slowly. "Okay I guess." She offered a weak smile.

Marie sat down next to her and grabbed her right hand. She gently rubbed Mercedes' knuckles as she studied the cuts and scrapes on her face. "We hear that your vitals have looked good. I think you should be due to blow this joint soon." She said while turning to look at the doctor as if asking for his permission.

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, we're waiting to hear back from the specialist in radiology. I'd like to get a second opinion about Mercedes' X-ray. But after that, if things still look okay I think she might be able to get cleared within the next 24 hours."

Marie looked back at Mercedes before kissing her knuckles with a loud pucker. "See, I told you."

Mercedes' smiled and let out a small chuckle. Marie, Edna-Ruth and the doctor laughed as well.

* * *

The officers made their way to the hospital exit. It was nearly 1:30 and they were both exhausted. They just had one more stop back to the station to fill out the appropriate information for the incident report forms while it was still fresh. As they began discussing their plans, they were approached by a tall man with wavy black hair carrying a large teddy bear. Despite his seemingly friendly disposition, upon seeing them the man's attitude took a turn for the worse. They both frowned a bit as they now stood face-to-face with him. Officer Harper spoke first. "LJ, hey man. We just spoke to your mother and sister."

"I know. I figured that's why you were here. Did you find out anything that could help find a lead?"

"Not yet. But we're on it." Officer Rodriguez said. "Listen man, I know we've filled your ear with it tonight, but on behalf of the entire department, I'm really sorry to hear about what's happened. And I promise you and your family that we'll find out who's responsible for this." He placed his hand on the man's shoulder. "We take care of our own."

The former detective lowered his head briefly before looking back at his gift for Mercedes. It reminded him that he wasn't just seeking justice for himself, but for her and the rest of the family as well. His only solace in the wake of the news was hearing that his niece was okay. He sighed, trying to keep his tears at bay. "I know you will." He said before raising his head. "Because I won't let this go until we find the bastard."

* * *

**A/N**: Hey guys! Thanks so much for the new follows and favorites. And the authors favorites...*tear*...you all are incredible :)

As I've mentioned to a few other readers, I'm done with fall semester! So I'm super happy about having more time to write. That being said, I plan on moving this story along quicker the usual for a next couple of weeks. I mean A LOT quicker!

Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey everyone! My apologies for the late update. Last minute stuff kept me busy these past few days (cooking and decorating, plans with the family, etc.). But I'm glad to take a break and get back to writing for a little while.

I loved the reviews for the last chapter, and thanks so much for the new story follows and favorites.

Don't forget to review and let me know what you think about this chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

Louis Angelo Tilden, Jr. said his goodbyes to the officers before heading for the elevators. Although it had been a while since his last visit here, he still knew the hospital's layout well. He expected Mercedes to have a room on the second floor, so instead of asking the young man seated at the front desk for any information he smiled and kept walking. He waited for a few minutes for the elevator to return to the first level. Eventually the elevator came and he got on.

Once he made it to the second floor he spotted a woman in blue, green and white scrubs and went to speak with her. "Excuse me?"

"Yes, sir?" The woman answered.

"I'm here to see-"

"Mercedes Jones?" She asked hopefully, having noticed the gift.

He nodded. "Yes. She's my niece. Is she still able to have visitors? I'm assuming it's after hours and all but I'd really appreciate it."

The woman smiled at him. "No, no it's fine. Given that she's a minor and she was admitted through emergency, protocol doesn't typically apply here." The nurse began looking at her chart. "Okay, she hasn't been scheduled for surgery or anything yet, so she should still be in her room. I'll take you there if you'd like, sir." She said.

The man nodded. "Mrs…?"

"Fields, Miss actually. But please just call me Simone. The formal thing isn't really for me." She chuckled.

He smiled. "Okay, Simone." He said as he reached out his hand. "Thank you for all your help."

She shook his hand. "The pleasure's all mine. Between you and I, I'm happy that she seems to be doing better. Not just in regards to her health, but her spirit." They began walking. "I can only imagine how difficult this must be for her, you and the rest of your family as well. You have my condolences."

"That means a lot." He smiled solemnly.

They were now in front of room 109. Simone knocks on the door and after a few seconds she hears footsteps. Dr. McConnell opens the door and greets them both. Simone introduces the two and the doctor steps back to allow LJ space to enter.

Mercedes, Marie and Edna-Ruth look towards the door to see who it is.

The second the man steps inside the room his eyes land on Mercedes. "Hi Peaches." He says as he walks over to her.

Mercedes looked at the oversized teddy bear he could barely carry while still keeping his balance. She figured he must have seen that the right side of her face was more damaged than the left, as he moved over to the other side of her bed. He put the stuffed animal down in an available chair and squatted down so he was at eye level with her. They communicated with intense stares and blinks for a while, both seeming to fear that words just wouldn't be enough.

Mercedes had grown up hearing about all the great times her mom, aunt and uncle had as children. Edna-Ruth made a habit of emphasizing the importance of family, so naturally LJ took his roles both as older Brother and Uncle very seriously. They were always a close family, so she knew this had to be really hard on him. He broke the sad moment with a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Mercy."

Mercedes smiled slightly. "I love you too, Uncle Lou."

He stood up and took a moment to properly greet his mother and sister. After giving Edna-Ruth a hug and kiss he went over to his sister.

Edna-Ruth spoke. "How'd you know we were here, honey? I couldn't reach you on your cell phone before we left. Did the responding officers contact you?"

"I called him, mama. I didn't want him to worry if he called and no one answered." Marie said.

Edna-Ruth nodded as LJ came back to her side.

Nurse Fields re-entered the room and begins discussing the chart with Dr. McConnell. She also refers to a manila envelope and a folder. She gave the envelope to the doctor and walked over to Edna-Ruth, handing the folder over to her. "Ma'am, we need you to fill out these hospital forms. Since Mercedes' didn't require very much hospital care, it should be pretty simple."

Edna-Ruth looked them over briefly, pleased that there didn't seem to be very many. "Thank you."

Simone smiled and began checking Mercedes' blood pressure on her good arm, then checking her vision. She was pleased that things seemed to be back to normal. "You're progressing so well." She looked back to the doctor as he continued checking information on the chart, occasionally looking at the contents of the envelope. "I think you're about to hear some good news." She lowered her voice a bit as she whispered playfully.

"I hope so." Mercedes said.

She winked and headed for the door as Dr. McConnell made his way to the family. "I've got some good news for you Mercedes." He said.

"So I've heard." She mumbled with a small smile.

He chuckled. "I figured Nurse Fields had informed you." He took the X-Ray scans out of the folder. "I faxed your X-Rays to a colleague of mine. He's across town with a patient in need of corrective surgery, but he was able to look over everything. We've both come to the conclusion that as long as your arm remains immobile for the next 8 to 12 weeks, you should make a full recovery without needing surgery." He smiled brightly.

Mercedes looked at him surprised. She sat up slowly with the help of her aunt. "Really? I won't need the surgery? EVER?" She asked hopefully.

He chuckled. "I don't think so. Prior to your injury, your medical history was great. No breaks or fractures. You should heal fine on your own."

She smiled. "Thank you, Dr. McConnell."

"You're very welcome." He patted her hand. "You rest up for a while and I'll see about getting you cleared early."

She nodded slightly and leaned back against the pillows as the doctor left the room.

LJ took off his coat and grabbed his mother's and sister's as well. He went over to the closet to put them each on hangers. He came over to the chairs to get the gift and placed in on the table. He noticed the roses that were already there. "Who got you these, Mercy?" He asked.

Marie held the cup while Mercedes' sipped some water through a straw. When she was done she answered. "I'm not sure. They're pretty though. I saw them here when they brought me back up from my X-Ray."

Edna-Ruth looked at them. "They certainly are beautiful. It's a good thing you'll be able to leave today. We can take them home and put them in water."

Mercedes abruptly turned to look at her grandma. Her words sparked a question to immediately form in her mind, and she wanted to know the answer. "Speaking of home…what happens now?" she asked, avoiding clarity.

Marie and LJ however knew exactly where the conversation was headed and looked to each other before setting their eyes on their mother to see how she'd react.

The older woman was a bit confused. "What do you mean, baby?" She asked as she softly touched Mercedes' forehead looking into her eyes.

Mercedes looked around the room before speaking. "Well, I mean…" Tears began forming once again. "With…them…them all…" She briefly closed her eyes. "Can I go home when I'm released?"

Edna-Ruth looked at her kids before grabbing her granddaughter's hand. "Sweetie, I don't think that's a good idea. I want you to stay with me."

"We figured you wouldn't want to go back anyway, so I called Roberta and told her to head to the house and get some things for you." Marie said.

"That's right, Mercy." LJ agreed with his sister before hearing the last part of her statement. "'Roberta?'"

"I called a little after we arrived. I didn't want to leave Mercy here and I knew you and Mama weren't going to. I didn't really tell her that much about what's happened, but I think she pretty much figured. She's driving in from Columbus within the next few hours and she said she'll call us when she gets here."

Mercedes was surprised at the news that her godmother was on her way so quickly. "You guys already thought this out huh?" She smiled sadly. "Okay."

LJ saw his niece's sadness and wanted to comfort her. "It's best that you're around family, Mercy. We need each other to get through this. I know I need you all." He said with misty eyes as he kissed her forehead again. "And I don't think staying by yourself would be a good idea."

Mercedes nodded as she absorbed the information. Things were happening faster than she'd prefer, but she knew that her uncle was right. They were all facing a tragedy, one from which they'd suffer longer if they weren't there for one another when it mattered. With a plastered on smile, she vowed to hold her head up high and accept the way things were now.

* * *

At 8 am, the once tranquil quiet within the darkness of Sam's bedroom was interrupted when he woke up. He took a while to force the rest of his body awake and turned over to sip on his water bottle. Although his nausea was apparently gone for the time being, his head continued pounding as he got up lazily and put on a pair of blue, plaid sleeper bottoms before slowly making his way out of the room.

He descended the stairs and heard the sounds of his sister's laughter as well as his parents' voices. _'Shit,' _he reached the bottom step. He hadn't even considered the possibility of everyone being up this early, especially since they must've gotten in really late. With a bit of caution, he walked into the kitchen.

"Sammy!" Stacey screamed with delight as she got out of her chair and ran to her older brother. She greeted him with a large hug, almost knocking an unsuspecting Sam into the refrigerator.

He groaned a bit. "Stacey get off, God. Seriously I'm not feeling that great." He said as he removed the young girl's arms from around his waist.

The 6-year old looked up at him with sad puppy dog eyes and a pouted bottom lip. She knew Sam wouldn't be able to resist.

He rolled his eyes before giving in. "Okay, okay I'm sorry. Give me a hug." He said while bending down a bit.

She smiled huge before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and planting a big kiss on his cheek. Sam slipped out a small laugh as he lifted her up and walked her back over to her seat at the table next to his dad.

Paul stared intently at his morning newspaper, only occasionally turning his attention away to sip some orange juice or have a bite of toast.

Sam noticed and spoke briefly. "How's the paper this morning dad?" He asked.

Paul shook his head in disgust at the article. "Kids, let me tell you something important, right here and now." He sat down the paper. "This country…sucks." He said bluntly. "As of now, I'm convinced."

Sam nodded at the typical response and looked at his sister, her eyes wide with confusion as she continued twirling her spoon around in her bowl of Apple Jacks cereal. "Well I guess that could be a good thing. The firm could capitalize on all the trouble that people are bound to get into." He said.

The man looked up at his eldest son and chuckled. "Although that's not the type of optimism I expected, I suppose you're right, son."

Sam smirked and headed for the refrigerator. He saw a yellow post-it note stuck to the fridge door and figured his mom left it for him for last night. He rolled his eyes when his suspicions were proven to be correct. He was about to fix himself some cereal when he saw his mom and brother coming up the stairs from the basement.

Nancy smiled at him. "Hey sweetie, I didn't think you'd be up so soon. Did you get our note last night?" She came over to kiss him on the forehead. She noticed when Sam winced a bit and grew concerned. "Honey, are you feeling okay?" She began feeling his forehead and gasped when she felt a large bump. She lifted his bangs and her green eyes widened when she saw the bruised and bloody area. "Oh my goodness, what happened?"

Sam looked confused as he began feeling around his forehead until he felt the knot himself. He couldn't recall how he'd gotten it.

Stevie heard his mom's worried tone and brought his attention up from admiring his new soccer uniform, looking at his older brother's head. He whistled. "Whoa, that looks gross. Does it hurt?" He asked while jumping up to touch the injury.

Sam moved his head out of the way, just narrowly missing his brother's fingers. "Touch me and die, dwarf." He said in an intimidatingly low voice, channeling James Earl Jones.

Stevie stuck out his tongue and moved to walk pass his brother, but abruptly turned back around and punched his arm before running up the stairs.

Sam turned and moved to run after him before his mom grabbed his wrist. "Now, now that's enough. Let me see your head." She examined the area closer. "What on Earth…?"

"I'm fine mom. It only hurts when you touch it. No big deal." He said. He opened the fridge door and began making his breakfast.

"Well, if you're sure." She went to the hall closet and got some rubbing alcohol and a Band-Aid. "But you should at least clean it off so it doesn't get infected."

Sam sighed as he finished preparing his cereal. He forced a gracious smile. "Thanks mom. I'll do it after breakfast."

She smiled back and kissed his cheek.

Stevie came back downstairs as they all sat at the table. Sam fought through his drowsiness and headache so he wouldn't alarm his parents, but the task became more and more difficult as Stevie went on and on about how excited he was for soccer practice later that morning. To make matters worse, Nancy always the busybody would scold the two young children whenever they weren't eating or began picking on one another, while Paul complained about work.

When he finally felt as though he could push through the pain, Sam hurried through breakfast in hopes of cutting out before anyone noticed. When he was done he put his bowl in the sink and headed back upstairs, straight for the bathroom and locked the door. He looked into the mirror and saw the bruised area on his head covered in dried blood. He began cleaning it while racking his brain in wonder of what happened, but all he could remember was talking on the phone to Mike while on his way somewhere. _'Geez, what the hell did I do yesterday?' _

When he finished cleaning the wound he went to his bedroom and plopped down on his bed. He sighed and sipped some more water. He fully intended to sleep for a while longer until he heard the faint buzzing of a vibrating phone. He looked at the floor and saw an unfamiliar black leather jacket. He got up slowly from his bed and reached inside the coat's pocket, the buzzing got louder. He pulled out a cell phone and noticed his fingers were covered with a white, chalky residue that reminded him of baking powder. He was disrupted from this thought as the phone began ringing again.

_'What the hell?' _Sam realized now that something wasn't right. Aside from him holding someone else's jacket, this was clearly someone else's phone as well. He let the call go to voicemail, and then looked at the background picture. Things began making sense when he saw a picture of Brody taking body shots from some girl's cleavage. _'So where's my stuff?' _He thought annoyed. The last thing he wanted was another lecture on 'responsibility' from his parents. He dialed Puck's number.

After a few rings he answered. He yawned before speaking. "What's up B? You better not be calling for a ride from some skank's house."

"Puck it's not Brody, it's me."

"Oh hey dude. Why didn't you call on your phone?"

"I can't find my phone. I guess I left it in the room last night. I need the number to Brody's motel room. Get it from your contacts and call back."

He sat up in bed and stretched. "Okay, no problem."

"Thanks, man. I'm going to try my cell number too and see if he picks up, so if I don't answer just text me."

"Okay, give me a few minutes."

"Alright thanks again. Bye." With that he hung up. He immediately dialed his own number and didn't know whether to be pleased or upset that it went straight to voicemail. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and then a soft knock on the door. "Come in." He said.

His mom walked in. "Hi honey. We're heading out for Stevie's practice. Afterwards we'll probably take the kids to lunch. Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"No thanks mom. I've got some stuff to do today. Wish him good luck for me." He said as he started looking through his drawers, taking out clothes to wear later.

Nancy came forward. "You take it easy today. And keep that wound clean." She kissed his cheek before leaving the room.

Not long after, he heard the front door close and the house was quiet.

Sam finished setting out his clothes and gathered his shower supplies while waiting for Puck's call. He noticed that he didn't have any towels and figured there were some in the laundry room. He walked out of his room and down the stairs, passing through the living room and kitchen before going down to the basement. After searching through a large amount of the clean clothing, he finally found the towels. He grabbed two and went back upstairs just as his headache made its routine return. He stopped in the kitchen and opened the fridge to retrieve another water bottle, then went to the hall closet and got out the Tylenol. He took two and drank some water before heading back upstairs. When he returned to his room he saw the cell phone vibrating, alerting him that Puck had sent a text. He read it, and listed was the number he'd asked for. Now he just had to call Brody, but not before taking the longest shower in history.

* * *

Mercedes wore a bright pink sweat-suit, and stood next to Marie as the woman placed her clothing from the previous day into a medium-sized duffel bag she bought a while ago from Target, along with Mercedes' new outfit. When they got the news that Mercedes was in a good enough condition to be cleared whenever she was ready, Marie decided to make a quick shopping trip since Mercedes would need some new clothes to put on.

Mercedes had been given a prescription for her pain and was feeling a bit better. Roberta called about an hour ago and told them that she had arrived in town and was heading over to the house. Since Mercedes had been advised not to use her arm, Edna-Ruth suggested that she tell Roberta what items she wanted her to pack for the week. They were going to meet her there as soon as they left the hospital.

As her aunt continued packing, Mercedes went over to the table, the roses catching her attention once more. She thought back to her uncle asking whom the person was that got them for her. With her good arm, she reached inside the thick bouquet and stumbled across a small card. She pulled it out and read:

"It is worth remembering that the time of greatest gain in terms of wisdom and inner strength is often that of greatest difficulty." - Dalai Lama

Trust that things will get better in time, as they certainly will for you. Remember that those you love are never gone, because they're always in your heart.

Feel better honey, and God Bless.

Fairfield County Hospital Nurses' Staff

Mercedes set down the card as tears formed in her eyes. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, totally in awe of the incredibly sweet gesture. She wiped her eyes just as Marie finished packing. Marie noticed her niece's tears and put down the duffel before walking over to her. She caught a glimpse of the card and smiled. She looked at Mercedes and pulled her against her in a side-hug. They stood there admiring the power of a stranger's, or in this case a group of strangers' kindness, until the sound of footsteps could be heard at the door.

Edna-Ruth and LJ returned from the first floor. They'd gone down to get a wheelchair for Mercedes and to pick up her prescription from the pharmacy. Edna-Ruth noticed how quiet the two younger women were. "You ready to go sweetie?" She smiled as she walked over to them and picked up the roses.

Mercedes looked at her aunt's smiling face before turning back to her grandmother. LJ and a young nurse came over with the wheelchair. Mercedes recognized her as the woman that assisted Dr. McConnell after she passed out. She smiled brightly at Mercedes.

The teenager returned the smile and nodded her head as she got into the wheelchair and LJ proceeded to lead the family out of the room, towards the elevators.

While they made their way there, Mercedes was greeted by the warm, encouraging smiles of her doctor as he came over to wish her a speedy recovery, the nurses' staff including Nurse Fields who sent her a playfully wink, and other hospital staff that simply felt the need to see her off as she began a new chapter of her life.

Although things weren't going to be easy, Mercedes chose to view all that's happened as something bad that could possibly lead to something good. _'I know it will be.' _She thought as they entered the elevator and waved goodbye to the helpful people of Fairfield County Hospital.

_'This is a new beginning.'_

* * *

**A/N: **Have a happy Holiday everyone!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Hey everyone! It's been a while but you know me, my schedule gets busy towards the middle and the end of the semester :( However this past week has been fairly easy, so I decided to use that to my advantage and get in some time for writing. I'll be focusing on this story for a while (my next two updates), so don't worry about anymore long waits between updates.

Enjoy!

* * *

Mercedes rested quietly in the backseat of Marie's blue Beetle as they pulled out of the hospital parking lot. They were headed for Mercedes' home in Lima to meet Roberta, with LJ following in his truck.

Mercedes looked out of the window and up at the morning sun shining down beautifully upon them. She wondered if it was a sign, a sign of happiness. Like a form of communication between her and God like her mom once told her when she was little. But how could that be during a time like this? What could God possibly want her to be happy about?

Was he telling her that her family's safe with him now?

Was he telling her that there's no need for her to hold on to any more sadness?

Was he telling her that her life was spared for a reason, and that she should continue living the way they would've wanted her to, by being happy?

_'Maybe so,' _she thought with a small smile before casting another glance towards the sky.

Mercedes was lost in her thoughts for a few more minutes before she began dosing off.

Marie looked at her sleeping form in the rearview mirror. She was glad that the happy-go-lucky Mercedes they all know and love seemed to be returning.

Edna-Ruth looked down at her vibrating cell phone as another phone call was sent to voicemail. It was just one of many that morning, as more and more visiting relatives arrived in town. She knew that eventually they'd have to be informed of what's happened, but between it still being fresh and Mercedes sleeping so soundly in the back of the vehicle, she didn't think now would be the best time.

Marie noticed her mother's uneasy silence. "Mama, are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Edna-Ruth turned to look at her daughter. "Oh, yes I'm alright, sweetheart." She rested her head against the headrest. "I guess I'm just tired."

"That's not surprising. You didn't get any sleep in the hospital. Please promise me that you'll get some rest when we get to the house. Please?" Marie asked.

"Oh honey, we probably won't be here for that long. I'm sure Roberta's got everything packed."

"I know, but I think we could all use some rest, especially Mercedes. I still think we should've taken her home before driving over here. All this motion in and out of the car can't be good for her with a broken arm, but she's just as stubborn as you."

Edna-Ruth smiled. "Some call it stubborn. I call it strong-willed."

Marie shook her head and chuckled softly. "There's a fine line between the two, I guess." She smiled.

* * *

About 15 minutes later, they pulled up to the house.

They saw a white Toyota parked in front, and Marie drove up the driveway.

LJ pulled in behind her and got out of his truck.

Edna-Ruth gently woke up Mercedes. "Honey, we're here." She said as she rubbed her knee.

Mercedes slowly opened her eyes and looked to her right where she saw her Lima home. She reached to unbuckle her seatbelt, but Marie was quick to stop her.

"Ah ah ah nope, don't you move. I'll take care of it." She said as she got out of the car and came around to Mercedes' side.

Edna-Ruth exited the car as well and walked over to the back where Marie and Mercedes were now standing. She grabbed Mercedes' hand and they began walking to the side door.

LJ walked up the driveway and headed in the same direction.

The door was suddenly opened by a beautiful woman. She was slender, of average height with gorgeous mocha-colored skin. "Hi, you guys." She said as the family stood in front of her. She saw Mercedes and couldn't stop the sad frown that formed. She stepped out of the house and opened her arms wide, reaching them out in Mercedes' direction.

Mercedes gave a small smile before walking into her Godmother's waiting arms.

Roberta hugged Mercedes, careful of her sore arm. "I'm so happy to see my Mercy. How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Hi Auntie Robbie, I'm feeling a little bit better." Mercedes said.

"Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat?" Roberta asked while they all began entering the house.

Mercedes shook her head. "No thanks, I'm really tired."

"Actually Mercy I think you should have at least a little food. You didn't eat very much before we left the hospital." Marie interjected.

Mercedes paused to consider her aunt's advice before nodding in agreement. "Okay, I guess I can eat a little. But I'm too sleepy right now." She said while yawning.

"Go upstairs and relax. How about you take a nap and you can eat a little later?" Roberta asked while gently rubbing Mercedes' back.

Mercedes nodded. "Okay." She slowly walked up the stairs, around the hall corner and into her bedroom.

After Mercedes was out of sight, Roberta turned to face everyone else. It was almost as if she hadn't noticed them when they first arrived, because she was so focused on Mercedes. But now that she was able to give them her full attention, she was surprised by their appearances. Edna-Ruth's expression not-so-obviously read sadness and anger, masked by an almost emotionless façade. Marie was the exact opposite, wearing her emotions on her sleeve and freely expressing her concerns. LJ on the other hand could only be described as…unreadable, which isn't surprising to anyone that knows him. It was part of the reason why things never worked out between him and Roberta years ago.

Roberta was brought back to reality when LJ lead his mother to the couch to have a seat. He and Marie sat next to her.

Roberta walked over to them. "Mama Edna, Marie, would either of you like me to get you something to eat or drink, maybe some tea?"

Edna-Ruth slowly opened her previously closed eyes. "Yes dear, thank you." Edna-Ruth smiled. "And after you're done, could you do me a favor?"

Roberta nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

"Sit down and take it easy. Today's been rough for all of us, and I think we could all use some rest. With that early morning drive you must be exhausted, so please don't worry about anything, okay?" Edna-Ruth patted the younger woman's hand.

Roberta smiled. "Yes ma'am."

LJ got up from the couch. "I'll help her out, mom. Come on Roberta." He headed for the kitchen, Roberta slowly followed behind.

They entered the kitchen quietly. LJ grabbed the tea kettle from its place between the dish rack and sink. He turned on the faucet and began filling the kettle with water. Roberta opened one of the cabinets and grabbed 5 tea bags, placing them on the counter. She then went over to the stove to turn on one of the burners. When LJ was done filling the kettle, he turned off the faucet and walked over to the stove. Standing next to Roberta, he placed the kettle on top of the burner.

They stood in silence for what seemed like hours before Roberta spoke up. "So…"

"So…" LJ responded with a sad chuckle.

"It's been a while."

LJ nodded and replaced his sorrowful expression with a rather nonchalant look. "Yeah it has."

Roberta knew where this was going, but she also knew that he was suffering right now. "I know that's my fault, and I'm sorry…But you know that I still care about you."

LJ looked up from the kettle and turned to face her. He could tell she meant every word she'd spoken. Her warm brown eyes were a bit misty, her brow furrowed with guilt. He knew that now wasn't the time to discuss their rocky history on top of everything else they were forced to handle. He reached to hold her hand. "Yeah, I know." He intertwined their fingers. "I still care about you too."

She smiled a bit. She hadn't expected him to respond this way, though she was happy he did.

LJ gave a small smile as well. "I'm glad that you're here Robbie."

Roberta's smile slowly faded away as she began thinking back to Marie's call. Tears began to spill from her eyes. "L," she sniffled. "L, I just…I can't believe this is happening."

LJ took her into his arms and hugged her tightly as she continued to cry. He ran his fingers through her hair and trailed that hand down her back while the other held her firmly at the waist. He rested his head against hers as they stood in silence. She clung to him tighter and continued crying. LJ placed a gentle yet lingering kiss on her head. Roberta slowly turned to look at him. She was hypnotized by his loving gaze. She leaned forward, closer to his face until she came within inches of his lips. He stares into her eyes as he closes the gap of space between them and kisses her. At this moment, they forget about all they've lost. They forget about their past. The only thing they can focus on in this moment is how much they want, need and love each other.

* * *

Mercedes slowly sat up on the side of her bed as she looked around her room, exhausted yet restless at the same time. She couldn't sleep anymore. She expected things to feel differently upon her return home, but not this different. It was as if she was living a completely different life now. Suddenly the portraits of her family displayed throughout the house weren't just captured memories from the past, but a way to keep those memories alive. She couldn't escape the images, and although they were agonizing reminders of the accident, a part of Mercedes didn't want to escape them.

She slowly got up from the bed and began walking over to her dresser where she saw a few of her own photos. She'd taken the pictures over the Fourth of July weekend almost two months ago. She admired most of them for a while before she focused on one which caught her attention. It was a photograph of her and her mom eating ice cream in the kitchen. They'd just finished cleaning up after their visiting relatives left for the night. Angelo and Melvin were sleeping in the living room, so they decided to have a treat since they weren't tired enough to go to sleep. Mercedes laughed at the memory as she picked up the picture and stared at her mom's smiling face.

The moment was abruptly interrupted when Mercedes' cell phone began ringing. She sighed and picked it up off of the dresser. She checked the caller ID and saw that it was Kurt calling. Obviously she wasn't in the mood for gossip, so she took a deep breath to steady her nerves before answering on the fifth ring. "Hello?"

"Mercy, girl I have to talk to you. OMG, OMG, OMG! Okay, so you know how Blaine and I were hanging out at his house yesterday? Well, at first things seemed to be going pretty normally. We were watching movies and eating popcorn, but by the time the opening credits started on the third movie, we were making out like crazy! Seriously, it was fantastic. And afterwards, he told me that he likes me! He's so awesome, Cedes. I know he's still getting over his Ex and all, but still." Kurt sighed with a wide smile on his face. "I think this is the start of something serious." He said excitedly. "So, what are you up to? How's everything at your grandma's house?"

Mercedes remained quiet as she picked up the picture of her and her mom, and slowly walked over to her bed to lie back down. About halfway through Kurt's story she zoned out and hadn't been able to focus on the rest of what he was saying. It wasn't until she heard him calling her name that she was able to finally snap out of it. "Huh? What?"

"Are you just waking up or something? How come you haven't told me what you think about me and Blaine?"

Mercedes cleared her throat in an attempt to stop the sob she felt slowly beginning to form. "Oh yeah, that's great Kurt. I always knew you two would end up together." She said in an unconvincingly happy tone.

Kurt knew something was wrong. "Mercy, you okay?"

She sniffled. "Um, yeah I'm fine."

Kurt was quiet as he took a moment to listen to Mercedes uneven tone. "…Are you sure? You don't sound too good. Is something wrong?"

Mercedes looked at the picture once more before she decided to stop avoiding the problem. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath before answering Kurt's question. "Kurt…something happened."

Kurt immediately began to worry even more. "…What happened?"

Mercedes took a moment to allow the words to form in her mind. It was hard enough just trying to understand it all on her own much less actually saying it to someone else. But she knew that this wasn't the type of thing that should be kept a secret, not that she'd be able to successfully do so anyway. She sniffled again. "…My family…they're…they're dead, Kurt."

* * *

Sam stood underneath the shower head in complete ecstasy as the warm water soothed his body. He'd already been in the shower for 30 minutes, although he hasn't even moved a muscle within that time. He ran a hand through his hair removing the wet strands from over his eyes and bent down to reach for the soap. He created a thick lather in his hands before washing his neck and face, careful not to touch the knot on his forehead. He washed the rest of his body and quickly washed his hair as well, he'd saved it for last in another attempt to avoid the sore area.

After he's done, he slowly turned off the shower and grabbed his towel. He wrapped it around his waist before walking into his room. Once inside, he starts drying off while heading over to the bed where his clothing and Brody's cell phone were on top of the blanket. He remembered that he still needed to call Brody's motel room before leaving to go over there, so he picked up the cell phone and checked Puck's text to find the number. He stores the number and dials. After several rings and still no answer, he ends the call and tries dialing again.

This time, Brody answers the phone on the third ring. "Hello?"

"B, hey it's Sam."

Brody rubbed his eyes. "Hey man, what's up?" Brody slowly rolled onto his back. The movement caused the other occupant of the bed to stir in her sleep a bit and she clung to Brody, wrapping her arms around his torso. He rolled his eyes.

"Not much. Honestly I'm still pretty out of it, and from the sound of your voice I'm guessing you are too."

Brody laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"Right," Sam laughed too. "Listen I've actually got some of your stuff. Your jacket and cell phone are with me. I grabbed yours instead of my own before I left last night."

Brody nodded. "Oh no problem, were you going to swing by before I check out?"

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to leave my house in a few minutes. I was hoping you didn't leave yet."

Brody got up from the bed and put on his boxers. "Alright, cool. I've got a few hours before I have to get back to campus. I'll see you in a bit."

"Yeah, I'm heading out soon. Bye," Sam said before he hung up. He finished drying off and removed his towel before tossing it into the hamper and getting dressed. He put on a white t-shirt and blue jeans with his favorite blue chucks. He grabbed Brody's jacket along with his cell phone and wallet which he placed in his pants' pockets. Then he went to his bedside table to grab his keys, wallet and water bottle before exiting his bedroom.

He slowly descended the stairs, went to open the front door and left the house. He walked up the driveway towards his car and opens the driver's side door before getting inside. Sam is immediately shocked when he notices some blood on the steering wheel. He squints in confusion before he finally realizes that the blood more than likely came from him hitting his head. He brings a hand up to his injury and looks into the rearview mirror. _'What the hell is going on?' _He thinks to himself, still very unsure about why he'd hit his head.

He chooses to ignore all that for now and puts the key into the ignition. He starts the car and slowly pulls out of the driveway and onto the street headed for the motel.

* * *

Mercedes lay in bed with her eyes closed, willing herself not to let her thoughts prevent her from sleeping. She knew it was pointless, especially after telling Kurt about the accident and the fact that she'd be moving to live with her grandmother. Mercedes had expected a dramatic reaction, but what Kurt gave was nothing short of a meltdown. He cried and constantly asked if she was okay, only for Mercedes to respond by insisting that she was getting better and that she appreciated his concern. As his hysterics continued, a part of her began feeling as though she should be asking how he was doing instead of vice versa.

She shook her head and sighed as she opened her eyes and slowly sat up in bed.

Suddenly there's a knock on her door. "Come in," Mercedes said.

Marie opened the door a bit and poked her head inside of the room. "Hey, just checking to see if you were up yet." She entered and walked over to Mercedes. When she reached her bedside, she handed Mercedes a cup. "Here's some tea, and Roberta's almost done cooking, she made scrambled eggs. Do you feel like coming downstairs to sit with us or do you want to eat in bed?" She asked.

"No, I'll come downstairs. I can't seem to get back to sleep anyway." Mercedes sipped on her tea, moaning as the warm liquid quenched her thirst. "Mmm…thanks, I needed this."

Marie smiled. She grabbed Mercedes' desk chair, put it next to the bed and sat down. "How's your arm feeling?"

Mercedes finished taking another sip of her tea before she spoke. "It's still pretty numb, but I guess that's better than being in pain." She turned around and sat the cup down on her bedside table.

"Make sure you take your pills. That numbing is supposed to stop soon and we don't want your arm giving you too much trouble."

Mercedes nodded. "Yeah, I know. The last thing I want is for this to get worse. I don't want it to heal incorrectly after I've already been forced to keep it in this cast. That would suck."

"Exactly," Marie said. "Totally suck." She laughed.

Mercedes laughed as well. "You sort of remind me of mom when you say stuff like that." She smiled. "But you don't take it too far and start getting annoying when you say it."

"You know why she made you feel that way? Because she's your mom." Marie said. "For some reason, children always feel weird when our parents start acting like us. Imagine how I feel seeing my mom TEXTING of all things." Marie laughed again. "But when someone else's parents do it, it's funny."

Mercedes smiled. "You're right. I guess that's why people liked Mom so much, and my dad. Angelo and I would say that they were probably just lying to them so they didn't hurt their feelings. But now that I think about it, when my friends' parents do the same thing, it really is funny."

Marie nodded. "I told you so." She was quiet for a moment and grabbed Mercedes' hand before looking down at the floor. After a while, she looked back up and noticed Mercedes also seemed to be having a moment of her own. "Mercy, are you okay?" She asked.

Mercedes looked at her aunt. "Oh yeah, I'm fine…I was…just thinking about yesterday."

"Honey," Marie leaned forward to hug her niece. "You know you can talk to me, your grandma, or any of us whenever you want."

Mercedes smiled a bit. "I know. But thanks for telling me anyway." She said as she kissed her aunt's cheek.

Marie smiled and wiped the tear that fell from the corner of her right eye.

Roberta came to the doorway. She stopped when she saw Marie and Mercedes' embrace and smiled at the scene. She quietly entered the room. "Hey you two, breakfast is ready."

Marie stood up and wiped her eyes again. "Okay, come on little woman, let's go eat."

Mercedes' swung her legs over the side of her bed, and she slipped on her flip-flops before standing up.

Marie and Mercedes exited the bedroom.

Roberta was about to follow them out, but she noticed Mercedes' empty cup and decided to get it and take it downstairs to be washed with the rest of the dirty dishes. As she walked over to the bedside table, she saw the photo Mercedes had been looking at earlier. The image of her best friend's smiling face brightened her own as she picked up the picture. She smiled and looked at it for a while before walking over to Mercedes dresser and retrieving the empty picture frame on top of it. She placed the photo inside of the frame and walked back over to the bedside table to place it down. She continued looking at the image. _'Oh Allie…'_ Roberta thought sadly before she slowly walked towards the door. She spared one last look at the photo before exiting the room.

Roberta walked down the stairs, and as she entered the kitchen LJ finished preparing five plates. Edna-Ruth was seated at the table sipping on some water, and Marie told Mercedes to sit down as well.

Mercedes sat next to her grandmother and Roberta told her she'd bring over her food.

Not long after she was seated, Mercedes' cell phone began ringing again. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw that it was Tina calling. She answered. "Hello?"

Tina was quiet for a while as she tried her best not to cry. "…Hey Mercy, it's uh…it's T…This isn't a bad time to talk to you, is it? I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, no Tina, I've been up for a while. And I'm taking it easy today so we can talk anytime…What's up?" Mercedes asked hesitantly. She had a good feeling that she already knew why Tina was calling.

Tina sniffled. "Well, I spoke to Kurt a little while ago…"

_'Of course, I knew it.' _Mercedes thought as she continued listening.

"…He told me what happened. I'm so sorry, Mercedes. Really, I am. I couldn't believe it when Kurt first told me. I just…I'm really sorry, Mercy." She said as tears ran down her cheeks.

Mercedes closed her eyes and lowered her head. "…I appreciate that T, but please stop crying. Like I told Kurt, I'm doing okay."

"But he told me that you're moving," Tina said with a sad tone.

Mercedes was quiet at first, eventually she responded. "Yeah, my family's in Fairfield so I'll be staying with them."

Suddenly they heard the loud sounds of tires screeching as a car abruptly stopped in the middle of the street, right in front of the house. This alerted the family and they all got up, exited the kitchen and went into the living room. They looked out of the window and Mercedes didn't need to look for any longer than a second before she realized what was going on.

She hung up her cell phone and went over to open the front door before she headed for the car. "What are you guys doing?"

"Mercedes, we had to come by. We needed to talk you out of leaving. Please, you can't move." Kurt said as he and Tina quickly got out of the car and shut the doors.

They sped over to Mercedes but stopped in their tracks as they got a better look at her. Aside from her injured arm, her face was still pretty cut up and a bit bruised.

Kurt gasped and placed a hand over his mouth before slowly walking up to stand face-to-face with Mercedes. "Mercy…" He reached to caress her cheek.

Mercedes smiled sadly. "I'm fine Kurt, really. It looks so much worse than it really is."

Tina came over to stand with them. "Cedes…I know this has to be difficult for you, and I know we probably seem really selfish and stupid, but we really don't want you to leave Lima." She said as Mercedes' family came of out the house, walking towards them.

"Mercy, what's going on?" Edna-Ruth asked as she and the other adults stood next to Mercedes.

"Trust me Gran, you're about to find out," Mercedes said.

"We're sorry for making a scene ma'am, but we really wanted to see how Mercedes was doing, and…" Tina said. She paused before saying the next part as she considered the elderly woman's feelings. "…and we wanted to ask if there was any possible way that she could stay here."

Kurt spoke up next. "When she told me about what happened, I freaked out. Hearing Mercedes tell me about losing her loved ones and seeing her right now, it makes me feel a way that I haven't felt since I was a kid, when my mom died."

Edna-Ruth listened intently after hearing Kurt's words. Marie put her hand over her chest while tears formed in her eyes, and Roberta closed the space between herself and LJ as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You see, I know what it's like to lose someone important to you. In case you couldn't tell, I'm gay. For a long time, my mom was the only person that made me feel comfortable enough to be myself. When my dad was getting mad at me for not playing with toy trucks like the other little boys, my mom was taking me to singing lessons. My world felt like it had ended when she died, and from that point on I tried being the son my dad always wanted me to be. I kept it going for a while, and I was miserable every single day. It wasn't until I got to high school that I made any real friends, and they encouraged me to be honest with myself. I came out that same year, and I've never been happier. Eventually, my dad even accepted it. We're closer now than we ever were when I was pretending to be someone that I'm not."

Edna-Ruth nodded as Kurt continued.

"All that has taught me about how important it is to hold on to those you care about, and Mercedes is one of those people." Kurt grabbed Mercedes' hand. "She's got such a big heart, but she's honest, serious and firm with us when it's needed, which is part of why she's such a great addition to our show choir. She's a great friend, and we really don't want her to leave us." Kurt finished with a hopeful smile.

Edna-Ruth looked at her children and Roberta before looking at Mercedes. "Sweetie, how do you feel about this? Would you prefer to stay here in Lima?"

Mercedes quietly looked to the ground before answering her Grandmother's question. "Well…McKinley's not so bad. As you can see, I've made some great friends. And with this being my senior year, I don't think I want to start over again."

Edna-Ruth smiled in understanding and hugged her granddaughter. She then looked at Kurt and Tina. "What are your names?"

Kurt stepped in front of the woman and reached his hand out to her. "I'm Kurt Hummel." He shook Edna-Ruth's hand.

Tina smiled. "And I'm Tina Cohen-Chang. It's nice to meet you."

Edna-Ruth looked at the two new faces for a while longer before speaking. "Would you two like to come in?"

Kurt and Tina nodded. "Sure."

"Well then I suggest you move that car from in the middle of the street. I don't want you getting a ticket on my watch." Edna-Ruth said with a smile as she, Mercedes and the rest of the family headed back inside of the house.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Hey everyone! I love all the reviews. Now that I'm not so busy for the summer, you know to expect a lot more updates!

Enjoy :)

* * *

After a frustrating and surprisingly longer drive than usual, Sam finally arrives at the motel. _'Hate Detours.' _He thought to himself as he pulls into a parking space and turns the car off before grabbing Brody's items and walking up to the motel room. He knocked on the door. After a few seconds pass by, Sam hears footsteps as someone approaches the door.

"No, I'll be back later today…No, I don't-…I don't know, alright?! Maybe in a few hours, don't worry about what I'm doing." A now neatly dressed Brody spoke angrily into the phone. He opened the door and smiled when he saw Sam. He stepped aside allowing Sam to enter the room before he spoke again. "Are you serious right now? Just do what I said. If he calls looking for me, call me back. The supply isn't even there anymore…Hey I know because I've got it in my trunk." Brody said after closing the door.

Sam chuckled, amused by the conversation. As he walks over to the couch, he sees a towel, a black G-string and an empty condom wrapper on the floor. He also noticed that the bedroom door was open and he could see that the bed was messy, the blanket, bed-sheets and pillows were scattered wildly across the mattress. Sam smirked and rolled his eyes as he had a seat on the sofa while Brody finished his call.

"Dude, if you don't calm the fuck down, I swear I'm going to kick your ass when I get back! I told you, I got this. Listen, if he calls back all you have to do is tell him that I'll call him soon. It's no big deal." Brody walked over to a table next to the minibar. "Cool, I'll see you later. Bye." Brody said before hanging up the corded phone and putting it back on top of the table. He walked over to where Sam was seated and sat next to him in one of the chairs. "Dude I swear, next time you're throwing the party."

Sam laughed. "Why, what's going on?"

Brody leaned forward to pick his cup up from the coffee table. He had a few sips of the black caffeine before he spoke. "Ah not much, I just hate dealing with one of my roommates. He's such a fucking annoying, little geek, but ever since he found out about me and a few of our other frat brothers selling on the side, tolerating him has gotten even worse." Brody said with a sigh.

Sam nodded. "You're not worried about him snitching or anything, are you?"

Brody shook his head. "Nah, he's not that stupid. Besides, he's a poser. That's why he's kept it quiet so far. He was only accepted into the frat because he's the Dean's son." Brody laughed.

Sam laughed too. "I know you hate those rules now, don't you?" Sam asked referring to one the rules of Brody's fraternity's house, which states that all bedrooms must be assigned so that for every previously existing frat member there's one new frat member as well.

"Exactly, and if I'd known I'd be dealing with Mother Teresa, I would've taken my 'newbie roommate selection' more seriously." Brody said. "I've been telling him that he wouldn't be so uptight if he at least 'sampled the product,' especially the new stuff."

Sam looked at Brody. "What 'new stuff?' I thought you were only into weed."

"Nah, that was when I was just getting started. There's tons of stuff out there, man. Seriously, you'd be surprised." Brody said before standing up. "Come on, I'll show you what I mean."

Sam got up from the couch before he and Brody walked over to the door. Brody unlocked and opened the door then stepped outside. Sam followed him as they headed over to Brody's truck. The brunette young man unlocked the vehicle, and he and Sam stood in front of the trunk.

Brody placed his hands on the trunk before turning to face Sam with an eager smile on his face. "Are you ready to see the stash of ALL stashes? The reason why I might be able to retire to Oahu BEFORE I even graduate-"

"Just open the goddamn trunk, weird Stoner guy." Sam laughed. He was already feeling a bit excited.

Brody laughed too. "Okay, I tried to prepare you for the awesomeness." With that being said, Brody abruptly opened the trunk, presenting the content to Sam.

Sam had to stop himself before his mouth gaped open. He couldn't believe the sight before his own eyes. Inside the trunk was at least 50 pounds of drugs, including marijuana and a large variety pills. Sam turned to look at Brody who currently had the biggest grin on his face. "What…the…hell?"

Brody's grin grew even bigger. "I told you. Isn't this awesome?! Go ahead, check out the merchandise," He said while leaning against one of the taillights with his arms folded across his chest.

Sam wasted no time in doing just that. He picked up one of the bundles of pot, craving for just a smell of it. He opened the transparent bag. "Dude, what I wouldn't do for my checkbook right now…"

Brody stood next to Sam. "No sweat man, you know I can give you a discount. You can even take what you want now and pay me later."

Sam slowly put the bag back into the trunk. "Nah thanks though. There's no way I could keep it hidden at home. And if I had Puck or one of the other guys hold it for me they'd just smoke it all." He looked at the bag again. "To be honest…I could go for a hit right now. But I'm meeting up with Mike later to go shopping for some last minute school supplies and stuff for practice."

Brody nodded. "Understandable. Tell you what; the next time I'm back, I'll remind you that I'm fully stocked. As a matter of fact, don't forget it. I've pretty much always got a decent amount of this stuff available. And I'll set aside enough time for my next visit so that you can sample this stuff properly," He said. "But until then, you make sure to let Puck and the rest of those greedy motherfuckers know that they better start sharing with their leader, or they can find a new supplier."

Sam smiled. "Will do, boss."

Brody began moving the bags around in search of something else. "And trust me they're going to remain very loyal customers after they try…" He came across a small bag labeled 'Specialty' and picked it up. "…This."

Sam looked intently as Brody opened the bag and took out a small, round pill. "What is it?"

Brody smirked. "This, my friend, is my 'early retirement' drug. I've been working with a friend of mine, he's majoring in Chemistry, and he's been finding ways to combine more than one substance. It's like you're getting two or even more hits at the same time."

Sam was immediately intrigued. "What kind of stuff is he using to make this?"

"That's the thing. He's been making so many different combinations, it's like impossible to know which is which, except for a few that I got from him directly. We haven't started selling it yet because we're still not sure of the effects. Neither one of us has even tried it." Brody said before handing it to the younger boy.

Sam looked at the pill. He found it hard to believe that a tiny drug which resembled candy was actually a mixture of potentially dangerous narcotics. As he put the pill back into the bag that Brody was holding, he was able to see that the pills inside of the bag were different colors. There were about 25 of them. "Dude, how can you carry all this around? Don't you worry about getting caught?"

Brody closed the bag and put it back in the trunk before closing the trunk and locking the car. "Nah not really, since I know my surroundings. We're out in the middle of nowhere. That's why we never get raided by the cops when we party here." He said as he and Sam headed back to motel room. "Besides, I move it around pretty often. When it's not stored in the trunk or with someone else, it's at the frat house."

"But still, not everybody's cool with it. Only a few of you guys are doing this, so how can you be sure that the others don't find out?"

Brody opened the door to the motel room, then he and Sam entered. He closed the door and turned to face Sam. "We keep it in the attic. No one but us goes up there too often because we moved all our extra stuff from out of there."

"I thought you guys were going to renovate it and use it for a game room?" Sam asked as he and Brody walked back over to the sitting area.

"No, that was the basement. But yeah, we did have it done a few months ago, so all the stuff from the attic is down there in a closet now." Right after Brody took his seat in the chair, he remembered they needed to exchange the mistaken items. "Oh, before I forget…" He went over to his bed and picked the cell phone up before walking back to the couch. "…Here you go." He gave Sam the cell phone. "And your jacket's right there." He said while pointing to the second chair.

"Thanks, man." He began checking to see if he had any missed calls or text messages and saw one text from Mike. He began reading the message.

MIKE: - U still sleeping? Wake up, loser! Ctfu. Text me when u r gonna be ready 2 leave.

Sam checked the time on his phone and saw that it was almost Noon. He didn't want to get a late start in case the stores were crowded, so he decided to cut his visit short and get back on the road. He grabbed his jacket and stood up. "See you later, B. I'm heading out." He said as he walked to the door with Brody beside him.

"Alright, take it easy okay? I should see you around the holidays. I'll let you know if I'm back before then though." Brody opened the door.

"Okay, until then I'll make sure that none of the guys hold back on 'sharing.' " Sam laughed.

Brody laughed too. "Yeah, make sure they don't. But still, you'll get your stash the next time I see you. And by then we'll be selling our new stuff, so I'll bring some with me in case you guys want to try it. You've got my number, so call if you want anything."

Sam nodded. "I'll think about it and let you know. Bye." He walked to his car and got in. After he put on his seatbelt, he turned up the volume for the radio, then drove out of the parking lot and back onto the main street.

He approached a red light and got his cell phone so he could send Mike a quick reply.

SAM: - Not sleepin, idiot :) Just left from seein B. Prbly b home soon.

After sending the text, the light finally turns green and Sam continues driving. A few minutes have passed by, and traffic begins to move slowly.

Sam remembers to take the detour again just as the music ends and the radio DJ begins speaking.

"What's up, listeners?! Orlando here, with your top-of-the-hour news report. For those of you planning to travel to Lima from Fairfield Township or vice versa, be sure to take the highway to avoid running into traffic near Vine Street. The road is blocked off near the center as Police continue their investigation into the cause of a fatal car accident last night involving a Lima family, which left three people dead and one injured. The victims have been identified as Melvin Jones and Alice Tilden-Jones, a married couple from Lima, their son Angelo Jones, and their daughter Mercedes Jones. The couple and their son did pass away not long after the incident, however thankfully their daughter was able to call for help and has since been treated and released from the hospital. We'll keep you informed about this story as more details emerge."

* * *

Several hours later, Mercedes is in bed clad in a blue t-shirt and gray pajama pants, sipping some water before slowly lying down. She'd taken her pain medication a not too long ago, so she was feeling okay and happy that she'd finally be able to get some quality sleep.

The day had been really wild to say the least.

Edna-Ruth and Marie were eventually able to contact all the visiting relatives and inform them about what's been happening.

In addition to Kurt and Tina, tons of other people called throughout the day to check on Mercedes and the rest of the family, including the rest of the Glee club. Several times during the day, things got so busy at the house that Roberta had to unplug the phone.

LJ told Mercedes about the Police investigation, and that they'd need to talk to her again in case she remembers anything about the accident.

After dinner, Marie and LJ drove back to their mom's home and got some things for her before going to their own homes and getting a few of their own belongings. Edna-Ruth had come to the decision that she'd stay in Lima with Mercedes, while the other adults planned on staying for at least a week having taken some time off from work. Edna-Ruth would sleep in the guest room, and the others were going to use the pull-out couches and an air mattress. No one felt that now was a good time, if ever there was one to sleep in the master bedroom.

Tomorrow, they'd go to Angelo's apartment and pack up his things. Then they'd have to make the funeral arrangements, which was sure to make an already long week even worse.

After everyone was done preparing for bed, they gathered in the living room to say a prayer and wished each other goodnight before finally heading off to sleep.

Mercedes sighed exhaustedly before pulling the covers over her head and finally drifted off into a peaceful, quiet slumber.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Update time! How ya doin', readers?

I've got a quick announcement before you all start reading the chapter:

In the past I've forgotten to make the following suggestion, but it applies for all my Glee stories because...well it's Glee :) For this chapter, several songs are included. If you aren't familiar with the music, scroll down to the bottom of the page and read my ending Author's Note where the songs will be listed, then open another browser tab and search for that song so you can listen to it while reading (the songs are listed in the same order in which they appear in the chapter).

As I've mentioned to a few of you awesome readers, (realism in general) visuals are important for me when it comes to writing, and in case any of you are the same way, listening to the music while reading is great.

This is a long chapter (the longest I've ever written).

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

After several long days, Friday arrives.

Mercedes spent the week recovering, practically on bed-rest. Of course between her injuries and grieving over the losses of several loved ones, Principal Figgins was very understanding and allowed her to take as much time as she needed to heal.

Though Mercedes appreciated his kindness, she insisted on receiving her assignments so that she'd at least know what was being covered in class and therefore she'd know what to read on her own. What she didn't mention was the fact that doing her school assignments was so important to her because she used it as a distraction from all that she had to deal with any other time. Her teachers prepared weekly lessons for her, which will be done until she returns to school.

After having spent the entire week at home, Mercedes was beginning to get a little bored. As she slipped on her Green flip-flops, she looked at her digital clock on the bedside table to check the time. It was nearly 3 pm.

She knew that classes would be dismissed soon, so she stood up and went over to her mirror to check out her appearance. She was pleased that her face looked better. The cuts, scrapes and bruises were gone having only left a few small scars and slight swelling.

She picked up her hairbrush as she looked at her reflection once more. She was wearing a Gray short-sleeved shirt and Dark Skinny Jeans, so she grabbed her Gray Hoodie before opening her bedroom door and walking downstairs to the living room. She saw Roberta putting on her jacket. "Aunt Robbie, when you get a chance, can you help me with my hair?"

Roberta nodded. "Sure sweetie. Come sit down on the couch."

Mercedes did just that as she gave Roberta her hairbrush.

Robbie slowly brushed out Mercedes' hair before asking her a question. "Do you want a ponytail, Mercy?"

"Yeah, thanks." Mercedes said as her Grandmother entered the Living room.

Edna-Ruth smiled at her granddaughter. "I'm glad that you decided to start focusing on your schoolwork, Honey. You know how important it is not to fall behind. I'm proud of you."

Mercedes smiled too. "Thanks, gran. I just figured there was no harm in at least doing as much as I can before I go back to school. Most of my classes don't seem too difficult anyway." She said as Roberta finished her hair.

After making the ponytail, Robbie stood in front of Mercedes and brushed out her bangs. "All done," she said with a smile.

Mercedes stood up. "Thanks, Auntie."

"You're welcome, Sweetie." Roberta helped Mercedes put on her Hoodie. "Are you sure you're up for this today, Mercy? I could always go get your assignments by myself."

Mercedes used her good arm to zip up the hoodie. "Yeah, I'm okay. Besides I could use the fresh air. I'm starting to forget what the outside of this house looks like." She said jokingly.

Robbie smiled. "Okay." She put her cell phone in her pants' pocket then grabbed her purse and keys. "Let's roll."

Mercedes kissed her Grandmother goodbye before she and Robbie left the house.

* * *

After a short drive, Roberta pulled into the school's parking lot. She drove up to the curb to let Mercedes out closer to the school entrance. Ordinarily, Mercedes would insist that they stay together so Roberta wouldn't risk getting lost while trying to find the School's Office, but she knew that wouldn't be a problem since Roberta had been to the school earlier that week with her Aunt to discuss her absence.

Mercedes slowly exited the car and walked into the building while Roberta went to park the car.

After entering the school, Mercedes was greeted by the tons of students staring at her, clearly at a loss for words and shocked by her appearance. She'd expected this though, so she was able to prevent herself from freezing up under the intense gazes and instead she continued walking.

After passing through the halls, she finally reached the Office. The Faculty and Staff smiled and waved as she entered the room. Mercedes did the same in return. She approached the front desk and spoke to the Secretary, but only briefly since the woman seemed to already know why she was there and she immediately went to retrieve the materials that Mercedes needed.

Soon after, Roberta entered the Office as well. She stood next to Mercedes. "Did you speak to the Secretary?"

Mercedes nodded. "Yeah, she went to the back to go get everything. I think she knew we were coming." When Roberta didn't say anything else, Mercedes looked at her, immediately knowing what the tight-lipped expression on Robbie's face meant. "Auntie…You called, didn't you?" She asked.

Roberta smiled. "Well, I didn't want us to have to wait around in case they didn't have everything together. And you know it would've been a long wait. It's been a while since I was a student here, but I doubt this school has changed that much." She said with a laugh.

Mercedes smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine, I understand."

The Secretary returned with a custodial staff member carrying several textbooks and some papers.

Roberta saw the items. "Are you sure you don't want take it easy for at least a little while longer?" She asked Mercedes.

Mercedes laughed and shook her head. "No, Auntie. I've been taking it TOO easy long enough. I'm ready for things to just get back to normal."

Roberta nodded with a smile. "Okay." She opened the door for Mercedes and the custodial worker. Roberta offered to carry a few of the books, but the man wouldn't have it and insisted on carrying everything himself.

They walked down the main hallway and passed the auditorium. A large sign was posted on one of the open double doors which read: Glee Club auditions, Friday at 3:30. Come and join the NEW DIRECTIONS!

Kurt and Tina were standing near the doorway, talking to Blaine and Artie. They saw Mercedes and immediately ran over to her.

"Mercy!" Artie yelled with excitement. He rolled over to her and Mercedes bent down to give him a hug.

Blaine was next, giving Mercedes a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Hey there, Gorgeous."

Tina and Kurt stood at both Mercedes' sides. "When did you get here?" Tina asked while holding Mercedes' hand. "Yeah and why didn't you tell any of us that you were coming? I thought you were staying home for a while?" Kurt said as he playfully scolded Mercedes.

"I came to get some stuff for my classes. I needed my textbooks if I'm going to start working on a few assignments." Mercedes said while pointing to the items being held by the male staff worker.

"Great! Now that you're here, can you stay to watch the try-outs?" Tina asked.

Mercedes shook her head. "I don't think so. We really didn't plan on being here for very long. Aunt Robbie and I were actually on our way out right now."

"'Aunt Robbie'?" Artie asked while admiring Roberta. He stared deeply into her eyes with a goofy grin on his face.

Mercedes smiled. "Yeah, this is my Godmother Roberta Ryan. Auntie Robbie, this is Arthur Abrams, we call him 'Artie,' Blaine Anderson, and you remember Kurt and Tina."

Roberta shook Artie's hand and smiled at the group. "It's nice to see you all." Roberta noticed the four teenagers' eager attempts to get Mercedes to stay, and decided to help them out. "You know what, Sweetie? I've got a few errands to run. I planned on dropping you off back at the house, but if you want to stay for a while I could always come back and get you in about an hour or so?" She offered.

Mercedes turned her attention to Roberta. "Are you sure?"

Robbie nodded. "Yeah of course, I've got to go to the supermarket to pick up some stuff for dinner then I'm making a few other stops, so if you want to stay it's totally fine." She said.

Mercedes looked at her friends, all of whom were pouting out their lower lips. "Okay, okay, okay, I'll stick around." She was barely able to finish her sentence before being lead into the auditorium by the enthusiastic bunch. She waved goodbye and shouted a "thank you" to Roberta, and the others did the same.

Robbie laughed and shook her head before she continued heading for her car with the custodial worker.

Mercedes and the others walked down the center aisle until they reached the first few rows of seats.

Rachel was trailing behind Mr. Schuester, nagging about the audition list. "Mr. Schue, as Glee Club Captain I demand that we call off today's auditions."

Mr. Schue rolled his eyes. "Alright Rachel, and today's reason is…?"

"I want to win this year! None of the people on this list has what it takes to join a show choir of our caliber. I bet most of them have never taken a voice lesson once in all their lives." Rachel protested.

"Well if that's how you feel Rachel, you'd be asking me to get rid of about half of our remaining club members. The same could be said for most of them prior to joining the club, right guys?" Mr. Schue addressed the other students as they approached him and Rachel. Mr. Schue immediately noticed Mercedes amongst the group, though he was surprised to see her. "Mercedes..." He said with a smile.

Rachel turned around and saw Mercedes standing a few feet behind her with everyone else. She too was surprised to see her injured friend. "Oh Mercedes…" She ran, more like energetically skipped over to Mercedes and gave her a huge hug.

Rachel's grip was so tight that at one point during the hug Mercedes had a slight struggle for air. Eventually she was able to use her good arm to pat Rachel's back, mainly in hopes that she'd get the message and get off of her. "…Hi Rachel."

The petite Jewish girl released Mercedes before speaking. "I didn't expect to see you today."

"Neither did I," Mr. Schue said. Rachel stepped aside and Mr. Schue stood in front of Mercedes, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's great to see you."

Mercedes smiled. "It's great to see you too, Mr. Schue. I'm happy to be here with all of you guys. I've been stuck in the house all week. With the funerals tomorrow, I just wanted to do something to get things back to normal."

Mr. Schue nodded. "That's completely understandable, Mercedes. It's important to focus on happy thoughts and looking towards the future when moving past unfortunate situations like this. I'm sure it's what your family would want for you. And you know we're always happy to have you here." He said.

Mercedes nodded. "Thanks Mr. Schue."

The teacher smiled. "No problem." Mr. Schuester said.

The Bell Rang which signaled that it was 3:30, time to start with the auditions.

Mr. Schue walked down the center aisle, up the steps and onto the stage. He approached the microphone stand and looked around at the many faces scattered throughout the entire auditorium before speaking. "Okay everyone, a few quick announcements before we begin try-outs. First of all, I want to thank you all for showing your interest and support in this club. Allow me to introduce myself. For those of you that don't know, I'm Mr. Schuester, and I'm the coach for the Glee club choir. Boy, this is quite a turn-out! I'm looking forward to seeing each and every one of your performances today. Remember to make sure not to focus on being the 'best,' just have fun and do YOUR best."

"Easy for you to say…" Rachel mumbled as she and the rest of the show choir members had a seat in the center of the ninth row.

Tina rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest, Rachel. Besides, you never know. With this huge amount of people trying out, we're bound to find at least a few good singers."

"'A few good singers' does not a winning show choir team make, my dear. 'Good' might have won us Regionals, but we need more than that if we're going to win at Nationals. We have to be the best." Rachel said.

"Girl bye," Artie said, rejecting Rachel's previous statement. "T's right, until we see everyone, sit back, relax and for God's sake close that mouth." He raised his hand high and shook it like he was in church.

Rachel's mouth flew open as she prepared to protest.

"I said 'close'!" Artie reprimanded the opinionated girl.

Rachel was quiet as she tightly gripped the armrests on the sides of her seat and glared at Artie before sitting back.

Mr. Schuester finished speaking briefly with the band and the stage crew before he continued addressing everyone else. "Now one more thing, don't forget to be prepared with your music selections so you don't hold up the audition process. We want to be available to finish by 5 o'clock, okay? Well, let's get started. Here we go everyone!"

* * *

At 4:15, Sam, Mike, Puck and Finn entered the locker room after leaving Football practice a bit early.

"Is anybody else ready to back out of this whole thing?" Finn asked as he abruptly stopped before reaching his locker.

The other three boys turned to look at him.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Finn, what's your problem? You signed up for it just like the rest of us. Besides that was like three days ago. Why are you just now considering skipping it?"

Finn spoke hesitantly. "…I'm sort of…I guess…nervous about, you know…singing…in front of all those people. Why couldn't we pick some other club to join or something?"

Now they all rolled their eyes as they went to their own lockers.

A few days ago, the school Guidance Counselor Ms. Pillsbury told them as well as a few of the other players that they should get involved in another extra-curricular activity so it'd look good on their school transcripts when they begin applying for colleges. Especially since most of them don't have the grades to be accepted on the basis of academics, and football scholarships will be scarce unless they have something to make them stand out as a student.

Puck took off his jersey and began removing his padding. "Jesus Finn, could you sound like a bigger punk right now? It's fucking Glee club. What'll they do, laugh at you? You've never even spoken to most of them before. So why do you care?"

Finn sighed before going to his locker. "I don't know. I just really don't want to do this." He said as he slammed his locker open and began undressing.

Mike was untying his cleats. "We don't have a choice since everything else is filled up." When he was finished, he put the shoes in his bag. "Dude, if anybody should be nervous, it's me. I hate my singing voice. At least you sound okay." He took his clothing out of his locker. "It's no big deal. The whole thing won't last any longer than five minutes. Besides, Puck and I are singing with you, so you won't be alone up on stage." He looked in Sam's direction. "Of course, if a certain asshole in here didn't have to be so 'edgy,' it could've been all four of us singing together."

Sam smirked as he wrapped a towel around his waist. "Don't be mad, Mikey. I just don't think you losers could handle my musical brilliance. I've got to fly solo on this one." He said before walking over to the shower area, the smirk slowly falling away from his face.

He thought about his main reason for joining the Glee club. He remembered everything about the day he met Mercedes. Therefore, he knew about her being in the club. So on the first day of school, when the other members of the show choir were trying to recruit new members, they mentioned how it was their hope to at least find enough people to fill the required spots that were now left empty by last year's seniors, not to mention the fact that Mercedes would be returning this year. Sam felt that being a part of the Glee club would work out in more ways than one. Not only did his popularity help encourage more people to tryout, but by joining himself he'd be able to get closer to Mercedes, and with good reason in case he remained too shy to speak with her on his own terms, like he'd been in the past.

She made him nervous. But Sam was ready to look past that now.

Since news on the accident broke, Mercedes has been the talk of the town, naturally the school as well. Although details of the accident were still a bit unclear, News reports were making it out to have been a horrific hit-and-run.

Sam couldn't imagine what type of person would do something like that, nor could he imagine what Mercedes must be going through.

"Ugh," he sighed with a slight groan. Just thinking about it made his head hurt. He gently touched the now almost nonexistent bump on his forehead.

Mike entered the shower area and noticed Sam's demeanor. He lightly grabbed his shoulder. "Sam, you alright, dude?"

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah," He said before he turned on the shower.

* * *

After showering and changing, the guys exited the locker room and began heading to the auditorium for their auditions.

Mike, Puck and Finn discussed the details of their routine before the subject was changed to Sam's routine. He remained silent about what he planned on doing, which only made them more curious.

As they turned the corner, the guys saw Santana and Brittany standing in the hallway outside of the auditorium. They seemed to be practicing their own routine.

Sam was surprised to see them. "What are you two doing here?"

Santana stopped in the middle of harmonizing the song with Brittany. She rolled her eyes and sighed before turning to face Sam, clearly annoyed by the interruption. "I must be confused Trouty, because as far as I know, Hell hasn't frozen over. So why the fuck would you expect me to explain myself to you? You know the drill, unless I feel like joking about your bee sting lips or your village-idiot brain capacity, I don't have anything to say to you. Now be gone, 'I Am Sam'." She said with a dismissive hand wave.

Sam glared at the fiery girl, but chose to ignore the insults.

"Yeah, and even though I for one have no problem with Sam's enormous mouth, over the summer I came to the realization that from this point on, I, Brittany S. Pierce will no longer associate with people that aren't as smart as me. So yeah, I'm sorry Sam, but I think this'll probably be the last conversation you and I will have…like ever in life," said Brittany.

Sam squinted his eyes in confusion.

Mike laughed at Brittany's bazaar rant before addressing both of the girls. "I didn't know you guys were auditioning too."

"Yeah well, Coach has been a lot less harsh lately. We thought we could get her to talk Schuester or anybody else into giving us credit for participating without us actually showing up. But she wasn't having it." Santana said.

"Well, it was worth a try." Mike said.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from a few feet away. When everyone turned their attention towards the direction of the sound, they were shocked by what they saw.

Quinn Fabray, more like the girl formally known as Quinn Fabray was wearing black combat boots, faded black, bleach-stained skinny jeans with a chain attached to her belt loops, a White and Black striped, off-the-shoulder top and a black headband. Her bracelets and fingernail polish were black. She even had a nose ring. And if that wasn't enough, her hair was PINK! Her long blond locks were gone, now replaced with a short, dyed hairdo.

Although she didn't make eye contact, Quinn was aware of the on-lookers. Her facial expression remained 'unaffected' as she headed for the auditorium.

The guys had their mouths hung open, while a scared Brittany pinched her arms, neck and face clearly convinced that she was dreaming.

Santana gasped and brought her hand up to cover her mouth. As she saw Quinn begin to go inside of the auditorium, she quickly walked over to her. "Q, wait!" She raised her voice a bit. When she reached the double doors were Quinn stood, they faced each other. Santana looked into Quinn's eyes which lacked any emotion whatsoever. She took in Quinn's heavy mascara and eyeliner before speaking. "What are you doing?"

The look on Quinn's face remained the same. "What are you talking about?"

Santana looked at her as though the answer should be obvious. "Helllooo, the fact that you look like Avril Lavigne and Courtney Love's long lost crack-baby! Why'd you do all this?"

Quinn stared ay Santana in silence before answering the question. "I happen to like it. I was tired of the way I looked before. I wanted a change."

Santana wasn't buying it. "Why? Out of everything possible thing you could've done to change your look, why'd you choose this?"

Quinn narrowed her eyes a bit. "I've got a question for you instead. Why do you care?"

Santana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Because I'm your best friend," she said.

Quinn scoffed. "No offense Santana, but if I wanted or even cared about your option, I would've called and asked what you thought about my outfit before school like we used. Or better yet, you could've seen it yourself on our drive to school this morning. Oh but wait, we haven't done that in months either now have we?" She crossed her arms. "Now tell me, how exactly are you my 'best friend'?"

Santana was quiet. She didn't know where Quinn was getting any of this. "What's your problem, Quinn?"

Quinn looked directly into Santana's eyes. "My problem is that -"

"Nope, say no more! I can fix this." Brittany said as she stood in between the two previously bickering girls. She turned to face Quinn, put her hands on her shoulders and stared intensely into her eyes. "Q, I understand."

Quinn had no idea what Brittany was talking about. "You understand what, Brittany?"

Brittany pouted, displaying sympathy towards Quinn. "I know why you're acting the way you've been acting lately. I know why you're so sad and angry. And I know why you don't think Santana or even I am your friend."

Quinn shook her head. "I seriously doubt that you know any of that, Brittany." She said. "And as for you two being my friends, it's simple. I'm hanging out with new people now. That's all. The Skanks have been -"

"The 'Skanks'? You're hanging out with those bitches now? So that's why we haven't seen you at cheer practice or around school this week? OR even over the summer?" Santana asked angrily.

Brittany put her index finger over Santana's lips. "Shhhh, don't get upset. We can't help her by being judgmental." She whispered before turning her attention back to Quinn. "Quinny, you don't have to be a skank anymore. And you don't have to feel left out anymore. We can all be friends again and you can be our third lady friend."

Everyone turned to look at Brittany. The guys were still processing Quinn's makeover, but hearing the news of Brittany and Santana's 'lady friendship' quickly got their attention.

Quinn sighed. "Brittany that is NOT what this is about. I'm not feeling left out."

"Then what's wrong?" Santana asked.

Quinn momentarily thought about telling them what she was going to say before, but now that she's had time to think a bit more clearly, she no longer wanted to do that. "…Nothing's wrong."

Santana didn't believe her. "So what, just because you've got new 'friends' you're going to forget about the squad?"

"I quit the Cheerios!" Quinn said loudly.

Santana looked surprised. "…What? ...When?"

Quinn noticed Santana's reaction. "…The first day of school," she said before storming off, passing by everyone.

Sam watched as Quinn began to walk away. He didn't feel right about letting her leave when she was clearly upset. He quickly followed after her. "Quinn!"

She continued walking towards the backstage entrance of the auditorium as Sam called after her.

"Quinn, would you wait a second?" Sam picked up his pace and finally caught up to her. He grabbed her by her arm to keep her still. "Quinn, stop."

She turned to face him. "What Sam?"

He looked into her eyes. Though he couldn't quite tell what she was thinking, she looked sad. "…What's going on with you?"

Quinn looked around before answering him. "Like I said…nothing's going on."

Sam shook his head. "None of this is you."

Quinn responded. "I've changed now. I'm a different person. It's not a big deal." She tried to avoid Sam's gaze.

Sam knew that she was trying to hide her emotions, which in a way told him everything else that he needed to know. "Look…I know that you and I haven't really…you know talked in a while. That's my fault. When we were together, I didn't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. And after we broke up, I couldn't even make things right…"

Quinn tilted her head down before glancing up at Sam.

"…But I still consider you a friend." He grabbed her shoulder. "I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything." He gave her a small smile.

Quinn stared into Sam's green eyes and knew that he meant what he said. Although a part of her still felt the need to keep him at arm's length because of how things ended between them, she also remembered the guy she had a huge crush on for years, the guy he was when they first started dating, the guy she hoped he'd be. She saw that guy standing in front of her right now. Hesitantly, Quinn nodded her head. "…I know. Thanks Sam." She slowly turned and walked into the auditorium.

Everybody else came from around the corner and spotted Sam. They walked towards him.

"Dude come on, we're up soon." Mike said motioning to Puck, Finn and himself.

Sam turned towards the group and nodded before they all entered through the backstage entrance as well.

* * *

The show choir members and their coach groaned as yet another audition went horribly wrong. After having already seen about 30 auditions, they were beginning to lose hope that they'd find anyone good enough to join the club.

Mr. Schue leaned forward to speak into the small microphone stand on his table in the tenth row. "Okay thank you, Avis. That certainly was…uh…something." He crossed off the boy's name on his audition list.

The boy smiled before walking backstage, where Santana and Brittany stood in the wing. Brittany was doing some last-minute stretching while Santana was humming bits and pieces of the song and going over choreography in her head, when Quinn enters the area.

Santana was still a little upset about her talk, more like argument with Quinn. Slowly, she walks over to her. "…Hey," Santana says, hoping to break the ice.

Quinn looks at her. "…Hi," she said.

"Listen, Quinn…I'm sorry about earlier." Santana softly stated. "I'm just worried about you. Even though lately we haven't been the friends we used to be, all I want is for you to be happy. I'd be willing to except your new…everything, if I knew it's what made you happy. But I know it's not. The clothes, make-up, the hair, the new clique, the attitude…it all just screams 'Miserable,' and that's not what I want for you."

Quinn stood in silence as she listened to Santana. She noticed the sincerity in her voice.

"I want us to get back to the way things were, okay?" Santana asked before giving Quinn a hug.

Mr. Schue called for the next audition. "Next up is Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce."

Brittany stood up and poked her head out and around the curtain. "That's Brittany S. Pierce!"

Mr. Schue rolled his eyes. "My mistake. 'Brittany S. Pierce'."

She smiled and turned towards the other two girls. "San come on, it's time." She said before reaching her hand out to Santana.

Santana pulled out of the hug and smiled at Quinn before grabbing Brittany's hand.

Quinn thought about Santana's words, mainly her request for them to re-establish their friendship. _'I hope so 'Tana, but it's not that simple. You have no idea how complicated my life is right now.' _She thought as the duo walked away.

Santana and Brittany made their way onto the stage and stood directly in the center. They took their positions before Santana looked ahead to the Audio Engineer in charge of handling the recorded music. He nodded, signaling that he was ready.

"Alright girls, whenever you're ready." Mr. Schue said.

Santana smirked. "I hope you guys are ready for us." She said before the music began.

Santana looked at Brittany as she recited the intro with the soft music playing in the background.

Santana:

"See, baby

I know you done had your share of girls.

I am more than confident you won't ever have to search any streets for affection.

I got you

1, 2, 3, 4!"

She and Brittany ripped open their cotton shirts, now showing off the red bikini tops previously hidden underneath the ruined clothing. The audience gasped, collectively.

Santana:

"What kind of girl you like?

I know my looks can be deceiving.

Tell me, am I your type?

My main goal is to please you."

The girls turn away from the audience, allowing them to see the 'Cheerios' written across the back of their shorts.

Brittany:

"What's on the schedule tonight?

Am I the reason you'll be treating?

I hope you have an appetite.

So tell me, will you come and spend the night?"

They bent down sexily before swinging their hair and slowly coming back up.

Santana & Brittany:

"My love is like, whoa!

My kiss is like, whoa!

My touch is like, whoa!

My sex is like, whoa!

My ass is like, whoa!

My body's like, whoa!

Ain't you kissing it?

So what you think of it? Whoa!"

They begin touching themselves as they go down to the floor and onto their backs.

"My love is like, whoa!

My kiss is like, whoa!

My touch is like, whoa!

My sex is like, whoa!

My ass is like, whoa!

My body's like, whoa!

Ain't you kissing it?

So what you think of it?"

Now on their knees, they face each other and begin rubbing their hands up and down each other's bodies, Brittany wraps her arms around Santana's neck, while Santana grabbed Brittany's ass. They were about an inch away from kissing when suddenly they were interrupted.

"Okay ladies, that's enough!" Mr. Schue said quickly before he stood up and turned to signal for the Audio Engineer to turn off the music. He then faced the girls once again and addressed them. "I insist that you two go change into something more appropriate."

Santana rolled her eyes. "I knew this would happen. Well I'll tell you right now Schue, I don't do that corny shit. You told us we could sing whatever we wanted, something that would allow us to express our feelings in the best way. So sue me because lately all I've been thinking about is loving my girl." She said while wrapping her arm around Brittany's shoulders, the blonde smiled in return before kissing Santana's cheek.

Mr. Schuester nodded. "I understand that, Santana. And overall, I was…surprised by that performance, both pleasantly and unpleasantly. Your voices are good, and you guys showed obvious confidence on stage. However, the performance was very…uh…edgy, especially the outfits and the dance moves. And the lyrics were way too explicit. We try to avoid songs that feature foul language. My only critique is that you tone it down a bit. Okay?"

Santana and Brittany looked at one another before looking at Mr. Schue and nodding. "Okay." They said before picking up their ripped clothing and heading off stage.

Mr. Schue chuckled and shook his head before sitting back down.

Like most of the other members of the audience, Artie was still in shock about what he'd just witnessed. "That was…" He trailed off as he spoke to Mercedes.

"…Whoa," Mercedes finished for Artie with a giggle. "Speaking of whoa, what's with the huge crowd? Since when do all these people want to join Glee club?"

Tina tried to gather the right words before speaking. "Well…most of that probably has to do with you, Mercy."

Mercedes looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Kurt spoke. "Cedes, People have been asking about you. I know you don't like being fussed over, but they care. I think people are a lot more willing to give us a chance now than they were before."

"…Because of what happened?" Mercedes asked. "Why would you guys think that?"

Kurt grabbed her hand. "Because you're the first topic people bring up when they want to talk to us about joining. All week long, about half the time I hear people mention your name, the phrase 'Glee Club' isn't that far behind. Maybe this is their way of showing that they care." He smiled.

Mercedes was shocked. "I…don't really know what to say." Mercedes was quiet as she thought about what she'd just been told. A part of her was touched knowing that people she didn't even know thought about her enough to support an activity that she enjoyed. But another part of her couldn't help but view the whole thing as one big act of pity, which was the last thing she wanted. She didn't like feeling that way, and she didn't want it to ruin the rest of the day, so she put her thoughts aside for now.

Mr. Schuester calls out for the next audition. "Okay next up, Mike Chang, Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman."

Backstage, Mike, Puck, and Finn hear their names being called.

"This ought to be good," Santana says sarcastically. "Come on, Brit. Let's go get a front row seat for the train-wreck."

Puck laughed. "Yeah, that's what you think. Prepare to be amazed, ladies. We'll show you what a real performance looks like." He said.

The three boys make their way out on stage. Mike stands in the center, while Puck and Finn head towards the back. After briefly speaking with the band, they graciously step aside allowing Finn to sit behind the drum set and Puck grabs an electric guitar.

"Alright McKinley, let's rock!" Finn shouted into his microphone.

The crowd cheered as Puck played the opening chord to the song. Eventually Finn joins in.

Puck:

"Say, hey!"

He and Finn continue playing before he starts singing.

Puck:

"Hear the sound of the falling rain

coming down like an Armageddon flame.

The shame, the ones who died without a name."

"Hear the dogs howling out of key

to a hymn called 'Faith and Misery.'

And bleed, the company lost the war today."

Mike did 'the worm' before standing back up and standing behind his microphone.

Puck, Finn & Mike:

"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies.

This is the dawning of the rest of our lives…"

Puck:

"On Holiday!"

The crowd was going crazy as the boys continued.

Finn:

"Hear the drum pounding out of time.

Another protester has crossed the line

to find the money's on the other side."

"Can I get another Amen?"

The crowd responded with a loud "Amen!"

Finn:

"There's a flag wrapped around a score of men.

A gag, a plastic bag on a monument."

Finn, Puck & Mike:

"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies.

This is the dawning of the rest of our lives…"

Finn:

"On holiday!"

Mike did a half-split before getting up and re-attaching his microphone to the stand.

Mike:

"Hey!"

He began dancing around the stage. He did some 'popping and locking' moves, then he spun around before doing a running round-off, back hand-spring, back tuck. He landed on his feet as the crowd went wild and he ran back over to the microphone.

Mike:

"The representative from California has the floor!"

"'Zieg Heil' to the president gasman.

Bombs away is your-"

Mike, Puck & Finn:

"Punishment!"

Mike:

"Pulverize the Eiffel towers.

Who criticize your-"

Mike, Puck & Finn:

"Government!"

Puck:

"Bang, bang goes the broken glass that

Kills all the fags that-"

Puck, Mike & Finn:

"-don't agree!"

Puck:

"Trials by fire, setting fire

Is not a way that's-"

Puck, Finn & Mike:

"-meant for me!"

Puck:

"Just cause,

just cause, because we're outlaws, yeah!"

Puck, Finn & Mike:

"I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies.

This is the dawning of the rest of our lives.

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies.

This is the dawning of the rest of our lives."

Puck:

"This is our lives on holiday!"

They finished the song. When the song ended, they were rewarded with loud cheering from the entire audience, including a beaming Mr. Schue.

"Guys, that was incredible!" The teacher praised.

The trio smiled.

"Thanks. I'll admit, we were a little nervous about taking such a huge risk with the instruments and in my case dancing, but we figured it'd be easier than just standing up here and singing, since we've never done it before." Mike said honestly.

"Well it was a great idea. The routine was flawless. Just try to avoid the use of offensive language. Other than that, good job 'fellas." Mr. Schue said.

The boys nodded before thanking Mr. Schue and exiting the stage.

Rachel beamed as she watched Finn walk down the steps on the side of the stage. "He's even more perfect than I thought." She said dreamingly.

Everyone looked at her.

Blaine chuckled. "Rachel, you're drooling." He handed her a tissue.

She gasped and grabbed the tissue before wiping her mouth and chin.

Artie laughed. "I definitely didn't expect that from them."

Tina nodded. "I don't think THEY expected that from them." She said before they all laughed.

Mr. Schue finished writing his notes for Mike, Puck and Finn's audition. He then called for the next audition. "Next up, Miss Quinn Fabray."

Quinn took a deep breath before she made her way out on stage. There was complete silence as the crowd noticed her new look. She grabbed a stool from the upper-right corner of the stage and placed it in the center. She sat down before turning to look at the band. She nodded, signaling for the guitarist to begin playing.

Quinn:

"You come out at night,

that's when the energy comes,

and the dark side's light

and the vampires roam."

"You strut your Rasta wear and your suicide poem

and a cross from a faith that died before Jesus came."

"You're building a mystery."

The rest of the band began playing as well. The audience was hypnotized by the performance already.

Quinn:

"You live in a church

where you sleep with voodoo dolls,

and you won't give up the search for the ghosts in the halls."

"You wear sandals in the snow and a smile that won't wash away.

Can you look at the window without your shadow getting in the way?"

"Ooh, You're so beautiful,

with an edge and a charm.

You're so careful when I'm in your arms."

"'Cause you're working,

Building a mystery.

Holding on and holding it in

yeah, you're working,

Building a mystery,

and choosing so carefully."

"You woke up screaming aloud,

a prayer from your secret God to feed off our fears

and hold back your tears. Oh,

you give us a tantrum

and a know-it-all grin

just when we need one, when the evening's thin."

"Oh you're beautiful,

a beautiful fucked up man.

You're setting up your Razor wire shrine."

"'Cause you're working,

Building a mystery.

Holding on and holding it in

yeah you're working,

Building a mystery,

and choosing so carefully."

The band played on their own for a little while before Quinn joined back in.

Quinn:

"Ooh you're working,

building a mystery.

Holding on and holding it in

yeah you're working,

Building a mystery,

and choosing so carefully."

"Yeah you're working,

Building a mystery.

Holding on and holding it in

oh yeah you're working,

Building a mystery,

and choosing so carefully."

"You're building a mystery."

The music stopped and everyone applauded. As the crowd cheered, Quinn gave a small smile.

Mr. Schue was speechless as he clapped as well.

Quinn noticed that the man hadn't given her any feedback. "Was it that good?"

He nodded. "It was outstanding."

Quinn was a bit surprised. "Really? What about the slight profanity?" She asked, expecting him to tell her what he'd said to the others.

"As of now, I don't think there's really any reason to mention it. Hey, if that's what you guys want, do it. I suppose it's no big deal. That was great." Mr. Schue said with a wink.

Quinn was happy to hear it. She nodded before exiting the stage.

Kurt turned to Mercedes. "What…the hell…is going on with everyone?"

Mercedes laughed.

Blaine patted Kurt's shoulder. "It's okay, Kurt. I've seen this before with some friends of mine at Dalton. Senior year sometimes has a way of changing people."

Kurt nodded. "…Clearly."

Mr. Schue looked at the audition list and saw that there was only one person left. "And last but not least, Sam Evans."

Sam walked out on stage and smiled out at the audience. Some of the girls whistled while his friends and teammates cheered for him.

He went up to the microphone. "Hey everyone," he said before going over to borrow the extra guitar on a stand in the back. As he made his way back to the center of the stage, he saw Mercedes. He hadn't even considered the chance that she'd be here. His heart began to race.

Mercedes smiled at Sam, eager to see his performance.

He smiled back and had a seat on the stool. Then he tuned the guitar for a moment before he began playing.

Sam:

"I'm just a dreamer but I'm hanging on,

though I am nothing big to offer.

I watch the birds, how they dive in then gone.

It's like nothing in this world's ever still."

Sam looked at Mercedes as he continued.

Sam:

"And I'm just a shadow of your thoughts in me,

but sun is setting, shadows growing.

A long cast figure will turn into night,

it's like nothing in this world ever sleeps."

"Oh sometimes the blues is just a passing bird,

and why can't that always be?

Tossing aside from your birches crown,

just enough dark to see

how you're the light over me."

Mercedes was in a trance. She and Sam stared intensely at each other as he began the next part of the song. She couldn't help but notice that he barely even looked at the guitar as he played. She smiled and continued listening.

Sam:

"And by your side, girl, where the acres grow

into the strong and stunning meadow,

a cowboy stumbling in the finest field

and nothing good out there won't be old."

The crowd began clapping along, in time with the beat.

"Oh sometimes the blues is just a passing bird,

and why can't that always be?

Tossing aside from your birches crown,

just enough dark to see

how you're the light over me."

"Sometimes the blues is just a passing bird,

and why can't that always be?

Tossing aside from your birches crown,

just enough dark to see

how you're the light over me."

Sam finished the song, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Feeling 'in the moment,' he smiled and gave a quick bow before going to put the guitar back.

Mr. Schuester shook his head in disbelief. "Man, did this turn out to be a Fantastic round of auditions or what?" He smiled. "Excellent job, Sam."

Sam nodded and smiled. "Thanks," he said before walking backstage to get his backpack.

Mr. Schue made his way down the center aisle of the auditorium and walked onto the stage. He spoke into the microphone. "Well, well, well. Where do I begin? I think it goes without saying that the students of McKinley are very talented. I'll make my selections over the weekend and post the decision on the bulletin board outside of the Choir room on Monday. Thanks again, everyone. Have a great weekend. That's a wrap!"

After Mr. Schue finished his announcement, everyone began gathering their belongings and exiting the auditorium.

Mr. Schue hopped off the stage and approached his choir kids as they stood up from their seats. "Hey, so what did you all think about the try-outs?" He asked enthusiastically.

"I can't believe we might actually have enough people to compete with us again this year." Tina said excitedly.

"I know right? And who would've ever thought that some of them would be able to sing the way they did? I'm still really surprised by that."

"Yeah, those last few auditions were almost too good to be true." Mercedes said as she and the others began walking towards the exit. When they reached the door, her cell phone began to vibrate, indicating that she had a text message. Mercedes checked the message and saw that it was from Robbie, telling her that she was outside. She put her phone back in her pocket before speaking to everyone. "Hey guys, I've got to get going. My God-mom's outside."

Kurt kissed her cheek. "Get some rest, sweetie. See you tomorrow."

"I will. Oh, did everyone get the email with the address to the Church?" She asked.

They all nodded or said "yes."

"Yeah, we're all carpooling anyway." Kurt said.

"I'll be taking a few of you and Ms. Pillsbury has informed me that she'll be able to drive those of you that I don't take." Mr. Schuester said.

Mercedes nodded. "That sounds good. My Grandmother was worried about people getting lost, so now that won't be a problem." She said.

"Thank you so much for including all of us, Mercedes. It'll be nice to get a chance to meet your Grandmother, whom I've heard such great things about." Mr. Schue said.

Mercedes smiled. "I've told her a lot about you. And really Mr. Schue, it's no problem. We knew that a lot of people would want to pay their respects in person. That's why we decided to make it into sort of a Memorial. I think they would've wanted it that way." She said.

Everyone gathered in a big, group hug before walking out of the auditorium.

A few minutes later, Sam finished gathering his belongings from backstage and walked out from behind the curtain, only to find the entire auditorium now empty. He mentally kicked himself. _'Damn cell phone.' _He thought, referring to the fact that he'd misplaced his phone. He didn't realize that it'd taken him so long to find it, now he missed his chance to talk to Mercedes. However, the gazes they exchanged during his performance told him that he'd have a second chance. He just needed to make sure he didn't miss it. With that thought in mind, he smiled and headed for the parking lot.

* * *

**A/N: **Songs used in this chapter:

"My love is like…Wo" by Mya

"Holiday" by Green Day

"Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan

"The Dreamer" by The Tallest Man on Earth

Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter with a review. I'm going to update my story "Love Always, Mercedes" before I post another chapter for this story, but that won't be too long from now. Until then, thanks so much for the support and encouragement! :)


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